Save the Children is committed to accountability as a core value of our work

Save the Children has been working in Albania for 15 years, fighting for the rights of the most marginalised children. Our programs focus on Basic Education and Early Childhood Care and Development, Child Protection, Child Rights Governance, Health and Nutrition and Humanitarian, and cover 10 districts of Albania.

We work in both urban and rural areas and the majority of our programs are implemented through local NGO partners, to ensure sustainable and lasting impact for children. We closely collaborate with government institutions, in delivering and monitoring our programs, as the State is ultimately responsible for realising children’s rights in Albania. Our funding comes from generous public donations in several European countries, private foundations and institutional donors including the EU, Italian and US Governments.

During 2013, our programs in Albania ensured 34,000 children and young people were protected, educated and able to advocate for their rights. This includes some of the most marginalized children and youth in Albania: those with disabilities, living in rural areas and Roma and Egyptian children and young people.  

Save the Children systems have a rigorous focus on quality, to ensure effective utilization of all our resources and maximum impact for children. We conduct thorough assessments of all our partner organizations, provide support and resources to strengthen their capacity and together we develop a culture of feedback and learning. Our partnership principles are based on value driven and empowering relationships, transparency and accountability, and mutual benefit. We commission external assessments and independent financial audits on an annual basis, to ensure our resources are used effectively.

Our donors also regularly visit and monitor our work, review our finances and their funding is professionally audited, all to ensure we deliver the outcomes and impact we have committed to. The quality of the results we have achieved are due to an emphasis on meeting our organisational program standards, effective monitoring, investing in team-working and sharing of knowledge with staff, partners and other stakeholders. Documenting and disseminating best practices, strengthening and expanding our partnerships, and working in new areas have all contributed to increased success in 2013. Above all, children are seen as our partners for change rather than only being considered as recipients of services.

Save the Children has a strong commitment to transparency; we are implementing accountability and continuous improvement mechanisms globally involving children, partners and other stakeholders.  

Continuing our commitment to ensure all children and youth are protected, educated, healthy and able to uphold their rights, Save the Children has developed our portfolio of work in Albania, building on lessons learned and best practices. Over 70,000 children, youth and adults will be involved in our programs in 2014. We have begun new projects aiming to increase local and national budgetary allocations for children in Albania; Institutional Development of Restorative Justice and Victim Offender Mediation for juveniles; promoting social inclusion for Roma and Egyptian children in Shkoder and ensuring access and quality health services for children and their mothers in urban and rural areas. 

We share information about our work on Facebook www.facebook.com/savethechildrenal  Twitter @SaveChildrenAlb and on the web www.albania.savethechildren.net.