Tumor diseases are among the three leading causes of mortality in Albania. But in the face of this worrying statistic, cancer patients face a shortage of drugs, equipment, and medical staff.
A report by the Supreme State Audit Office (SSA) reveals that the public cancer treatment system is collapsing. From expired drugs, to malfunctioning equipment and a lack of clinical protocols, the report sheds light on a crisis that has been going on for years.
Cancer Treatment in Albania: An Underestimated Emergency
In the last five years, according to INSTAT, tumor diseases have held the third place in terms of causing deaths. However, the latest report by the Albanian Supreme Audit Institution (ALSH) proves that the state does not guarantee even the minimum necessary services for patients. "with bad diseases".
The SAI has described this situation "breach of the social contract between the state and its citizens", demanding urgent intervention and concrete measures to restore the dignity of treatment.
Among the main problems identified by the report are: lack of medicines and expired medicines, outdated medical treatment protocols, degraded technical system, equipment that does not work or is missing, the hospital without air conditioning, humid rooms that are unsuitable for treatment and insufficient to cover all requirements.
The HSE says that this situation "has potentially negatively impacted the quality of patient treatments" WHEREAS "the sector's technical equipment has not been maintained or calibrated since the moment of their inventory."
According to statistics, according to the Albanian Supreme Audit Office, around 46% of the list of antitumor drugs authorized for marketing in Albania (116 out of 253 drugs in total) have never been imported in the period 2021-2025.
Meanwhile, the report speaks of unjustified delays in supplies by pharmaceutical importers in 49 cases with around 49 million lek (around 500,000 euros) in unapplied penalties.
The lack of basic chemotherapy drugs affects drugs such as "Actinomycin D", which turns out to have been obtained only through donations, while drugs such as "Ifosfamide" or "Methotrexate" had turned out to be expired, but were still kept in the hospital pharmaceutical warehouse system.
For 39 antitumor drugs, there were no contracts with the Mandatory Health Insurance Fund in 2024. In addition, according to the ALSHI report, the current procedure for marketing antitumor drugs is long and inefficient.
“The current process creates a regulatory vacuum and limits the operational flexibility of the National Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices, negatively impacting the timely supply of medicines to the market and increasing the risk for patients in urgent need of treatment,” the report points out.
Also seen as problematic are the duplication of prescriptions during the day, the lack of complete and accurate records, the incorrect discharge of medications to other patients, etc.
"The lack of medicines combined with shortcomings in distribution in hospital services […] creates a high-risk situation for the health system and for patients receiving treatment in these structures," the report further quotes.
Health institutions did not implement the recommendations of the HSE
The recently published report is a return after about two years of the Albanian Supreme Audit Institution to auditing the treatments of tumor diseases in the public system. In year 2023 The audit had left recommendations, of which almost three-quarters were not fully implemented.
"33% of them have been implemented, 42% partially, 8% in the process of implementation and 17% unimplemented", the report states.
According to the audit at the Oncology Hospital of the Mother Teresa University Hospital Center, it is noted that financial expenses for the treatment of tumor diseases have not increased even though the number of patients diagnosed with these diseases has been constantly increasing.
The report also points out that there is a shortage of human resources staff, which leads to long queues and days of waiting for patients. "reducing the effectiveness of the service and increasing the financial costs of patients and families".
The service provided at the hospital is, among other things, limited in terms of logistics and space. The Oncology Hospital has only 19 beds for over 75 patients per day who come from all over the country.
The report finds that the brachytherapy device did not function for a long period, leaving 600 women without treatment. Other devices such as Orthovoltage and radiotherapy equipment were not put into operation due to a lack of facilities, causing about 200 melanoma patients to go untreated.
Meanwhile, another 250 patients are said to have not received treatment due to a lack of auxiliary materials such as tubes, pumps, and thermoplastic masks.
The report emphasizes that there are hygiene problems in this hospital, as there is no air conditioning system and the patient rooms on the third floor are humid.
"The basement of the building is non-functional, currently serving as a storage area for depreciated equipment. The level of dirt in the basement is quite high and poses a potential risk for infections."
Among other things, the report states that the Ministry of Health and Social Protection and the QSUNT do not report the same data on cancer cases.
"Mortality data is processed by the Institute of Statistics and is not integrated into the National Cancer Registry administered by the Institute of Public Health, thus not providing real reports on the prevalence of the disease and mortality."
In the regional hospitals included in the audit, such as those in Durrës, Fier, Vlora, Shkodra, Elbasan, Korça and Berat, it is not said that there are no full capacities with human resources (oncologists), dedicated beds, equipment and medical materials.
So instead of treatment with dignity, cancer patients in Albania seem to be fighting on a double front: on one side with the disease and on the other with a healthcare system that does not respond to them.
Also Read:
- KLSH: The lack of equipment in the oncology hospital endangers the lives of 600 female patients
- The investigations of the Prosecutor's Office revealed that the doctors of the Oncology Department sold the drugs, the patients without the proper treatment
- Oncology scandal, protests again at the "Ministry of Death"
Erisa Kryeziu has completed higher studies in Journalism and Communication and Master of Science in Public Relations at the University of Tirana. She has been a journalist and project manager at Citizens.al for five years, where she reports on social issues and human rights, especially on issues of rights at work, in education, gender equality, marginalized groups, people with disabilities such as and for environmental issues. At the same time, she works as a project coordinator with a focus on youth and media education. User of new reporting techniques such as "Mobile Journalism" and citizen engagement tools in reporting (ECR-Engage Citizens Journalism).
