News from the SEEHN Member States
Titled “The Health Status of the Albanian Population”, the 2014 National Health Report of Albania was published by the Institute of Public Health of Albania with the support of the UNICEF country office.
Based upon a desk review of the official sources of information on health status and health care system in the country, the Report provides a broad overview of the current health status of the Albanian population by highlighting the mortality and morbidity patterns in the past twenty years as well as the major risk factors and other determinants of disease and death in the Albanian population. The Report also describes the health care resources, workforce distribution, health care utilization and the costs involved in the Albanian health sector.
Comparing certain aspects of the Albanian health system to the relevant ones in the neighbouring countries, the National Health Report provides solutions to the problematic issues, ultimately aiming at supporting better evidence-based health policy making and priority setting. Consequently, it may serve as a baseline document for a cross-national comparison at both regional and international level.
The complete 2014 National Health Report of Albania is available here.
SEEHN health stories
Croatia – How would I describe my life before liver transplant? I would say “normal”. Work, home, family, going out – nothing unusual, just an ordinary life. I was financially independent, having a job I loved, but suddenly it took me much more time to finish things, I had less and less time to go out, and I felt less and less like going out and spending time with my friends.
Unfortunately, the first symptom of my disease was fatigue, which, although I am a health care professional, I did not attribute to a disease. Day after day, and then after a few months fever appeared, with yellowing of my palms and the white of my eyes!
The diagnosis was terrifying – autoimmune hepatitis, cirrhosis, and a liver transplant is necessary. After the necessary tests, I was put on the transplant list; I was the first on Eurotransplant’s high-urgency list. During that period, I lost consciousness; I even fell into a coma for some time!
But I received my new organ; my liver came from Germany, as I was told later. Dialysis, pneumonia, wound infections, sepsis – this is only a part of what happened later, as if the entire universe was against me. Solve one complication, and another one appears. The human heart has a nasty habit of calling fate only that which tries to ruin it!!
Stubborn and persistent, there were occasions when I was ready to give up… but fortunately, the University Hospital Centre Zagreb transplant team were far more persistent than I was, and equipped with knowledge, they kept pushing me on.
It was hard, long; I don’t even know how I endured it all. But I do know one thing: without a new liver, I would not be alive today. Someone, someone I haven’t met, decided to be generous at the moment of their greatest sorrow and pain, and give someone else, me, a new life, a new opportunity.
Gratitude and pride are difficult to express in words.
Today, four and a half years later, I’m proud of the person that I’ve become, and grateful for everything I have. It might not seem a lot, but I have my head firmly on my shoulders, I can walk alone, I can hear, see and feel.
And most importantly – I have endless love and support of family and friends!
Private photography by Martina Capan
Story prepared by: Martina Capan (translated to English by Start Ltd.)
