In-country activities
Albania | Demographic and Health Survey (ADHS) 2017-18 completed and report published with SDC support
Prepared by HAP team
The
Albanian Demographic and Health Survey (ADHS) is a household
nationally-representative survey that included interviews in 15,823
families from all 12 Qarks (regions) of Albania. The fieldwork for data
collection was carried out between September 2017 and February 2018. The
survey provides an updated evidence on the living conditions of
respondents, demographic characteristics of the population involved in
the survey, lifestyle health risk factors and non-communicable diseases,
maternal health care and family planning, child health and nutrition,
HIV and AIDS.
The Survey was primarily financed by the Embassy
of Switzerland in Albania and co-funded by the Government of Albania
and UN institutions (UNFPA, UN Women, and UNICEF). The Swiss
contribution was provided through the SDC-funded project, Health for All
(HAP), for an amount of 800,000 CHF.
The final report
of the Survey was launched in Tirana on December 12, 2018. During his
speech, the Swiss Ambassador Adrian Maître emphasized the importance
ADHS has for providing data on family health, population, fertility,
family planning, nutrition, mortality, behavioral risk factors.
Additionally, Ambassador Maître mentioned that health information should
be in formats that meet the needs of multiple users: policy-makers,
planners, managers, health care providers, communities, individuals.
The
ADHS 2017-2018 includes an orientation towards non-communicable
diseases (NCDs). NCDs are one of the main causes of death and disability
in Albania, a similar situation as in other parts of South Eastern
European Region. Health for All Project’s objectives are closely related
to raise awareness of non-communicable diseases, their prevention and
treatment. On this regard, ADHS findings on NCDs prevalence serve as a
benchmark into comparing the actual health situation of Albanians with
that of 10 years before, observe existing trends and the data generated
helps toward needs tailor interventions for a better health of Albanian
population.
Some key findings from ADHS 2017-2018 are as follow:
The
trend of hypertension in Albania has worsened for both men and women in
the last 10 years. According to ADHS 2018, the prevalence of
hypertension is 24.3 percent for women (20% in ADHS 2008-09) and 37.7
percent for men of age 15-49 years old (it was 27,6% in ADHS 2008-2009).
There
is evidence on improvement of hypertension treatment and control in the
last 10 years in Albania. Thus, ADHS 2017-18 shows that 25% of women
and 20% of men that are diagnosed with hypertension are treating it and
their blood pressure is under control. These figures were respectively
3% for women and 1% for men in 2008.
Obesity has increased among women in
Albania. According to ADHS 2018, the percentage of men overweight or
obese is 53% in 2018 or exactly the same as in 2008, while the
percentage of women overweight or obese has increased from 39% in 2008
to 45% in 2018. Therefore, it is an immediate challenge to reduce the
risk factors related mostly to nutrition, diet and physical activity,
with a specific attention on girls and women.
Consumption
of alcohol (during the last year) in Albania has decreased compared to
2008-2009. Thus, the prevalence of men age 15-49 years who reported
alcohol consumption in the last 12 months slightly decreased from 62,8%
in 2008 to 59,6 % in 2018, while the same percentage for women decreased
from 30,3% in 2008 to 28,3% in 2018. It is interesting to highlight an
important decrease in the prevalence of heavy alcohol drinkers among men
(men age 15-49 years who reported a frequency of alcohol consumption of
1-5 days a week or more) from 39,7% in 2008-09 to 26,4% in 2018.
As
per the above, the ADHS results help provide the necessary information
and analyses to assess, measure, and evaluate the existing programs in
the country. It also provides crucial information to policymakers when
drafting new policies and strategies related to the health sector and
health services in Albania
To access the full ADHS report, please click here.
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