In addition to longstanding historical and cultural ties, North Macedonia, Albania, and Kosovo share fifteen joint border crossings and host significant mobility within and across those borders. Along with the benefits of this interconnection, however, comes an elevated risk of disease transmission. The three countries’ ability to respond to that risk is also limited. Their health systems are under-resourced and overstretched, and marginalized communities, including displaced people and those living in remote rural areas, often have limited access to care. The countries’ health workforces are also limited in their ability to surge when emergencies arise.
In the spirit of the Pandemic Fund, the North Macedonia, Albania, and Kosovo Emergency Ready (MAKE-READY) multi-country project is responding to the countries’ challenges through multisectoral cooperation. The project is led by Albania’s Ministry of Health and Social Protection, Kosovo’s Ministry of Health and Department of Finance, and North Macedonia’s Ministry of Health, as well as all countries’ Ministries of Agriculture and Albania’s and Kosovo’s Ministries of Environment.
Project objectives
With the support of the Pandemic Fund, MAKE-READY seeks to drive sustainable improvements to regional PPR, aligned with national policies.
Expected outcomes
Albania, Kosovo, and North Macedonia anticipate that the MAKE-READY project will enable them to:
- Strengthen regional event- and indicator-based surveillance
- Upgrade regional laboratory capacity
- Boost the public and community health workforce for both regular and surge situations
- Drive collaboration for pandemic PPR across the region.