Locations
UNDP Albania
Leave No One Behind Programme – Phase two (LNB2)
Summary
"Leave No One Behind” (LNB2) is a joint United Nations Programme that aims to empower vulnerable persons and groups to have improved access to public services that support their social rights, social inclusion and well-being, and are empowered to have a voice in public policy decision-making affecting their lives, and to hold decision-makers accountable for policy implementation. This programme is being implemented by UNDP, UNICEF, UNWOMEN and UNFPA through the modalities of the Delivering as One (DaO) mechanism, under the framework of the Government of Albania-UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2022-2026. It is financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and is implemented in close partnership with Ministry of Health and Social Protection and other relevant governmental bodies at the central and local levels. The use of the UN SDG Acceleration Fund – in support of the DaO approach – further incentivizes UN cooperation and strengthens its policy and advocacy voice vis-à -vis communities, government partners, donors, civil society, and other international organizations. UNDP is the lead UN agency for the overall implementation and coordination of the LNB2 programme.
The programme’s outcomes and outputs are closely linked and support the national reforms, development goals/ strategies of the Government of Albania regarding social protection and inclusion, and the wider framework for human capital and social development. In full alignment with relevant Albanian policies and legislation and with an evidenced contribution across Albania, its 1st phase supported the making of a national social protection system and the design of an adequate social services model. During the 2nd phase, the aim is to further improve the results orientation of this flagship programme by scaling up the social protection and inclusion reform roll-out and increasing capacities of local government to provide decentralized services for women, children, and men in their Municipalites. At the local level, the program collaborates with 32 municipalities through tailored technical and capacity-building interventions and pilot initiatives that focus on social services for the most vulnerable. The programme’s target groups who directly and indirectly benefit from improved access to social services, are: (1) marginalized and vulnerable families and persons, of all genders and of all ages, and (2) persons with disabilities, and Roma and Egyptians. The programme primarily uses instruments for capacity building and organizational development.
The three main outcomes of the second phase (2021-2025) are:
- Empower vulnerable population to request and access adequate social services from local authorities that support their social inclusion,
- Strengthen municipalities to effectively manage the provision of social services and promote the social inclusion of the most vulnerable,
- Support national institutions in the implementation of their policy framework for the provision of social services and in the adequate financing of social services.
Background
UNDP through the Leave No One Behind (LNB2) programme supports ongoing Albania social protection reform, and scales up the reform roll-out, guided by the vision of providing decentralised social services to all vulnerable people and promoting national system building. With LNB2 support, the government of Albania has adopted a range of significant strategies and action plans as part of social protection reform.
The most important contribution of UNDP/LNB2 programme is the promotion of best models and practices in the delivery of social care services which enabled more quality services for the ones that lack both the knowledge and access to such services. LNB2/UNDP has developed and supported an innovative yet appropriate model for social services that has the potential to reduce poverty and counter exclusion. Through the LNB2 programme, the UNDP has strengthened cooperation between stakeholders, increased the density and frequency of available social services, increased outreach and improved the quality of social services provided, which is expected to have a positive impact on the lives of vulnerable people, including vulnerable families, Roma and Egyptian communities, women and girls, older people, vulnerable children and people with disabilities. By adopting a rights-based approach, the UNDP/LNB2 programme has played a crucial role in empowering marginalised groups and ensuring that no one is left behind and that everyone, regardless of their background or circumstances, has access to social services and opportunities to lead a fulfilling life and participate fully in society.
In view of scaling up of the reform roll-out, UNDP through LNB2 has supported the GoA to strengthen the functionality of the national Social Fund mechanism facilitating broad consultative meetings (2022) and providing technical assistance in analyzing the existing legal framework of the Social Fund (2023), in order to ensure that it enables the proper functioning of this mechanism and its goal to meet the social service needs of vulnerable groups throughout the country. More importantly, the UNDP has directly contributed to improving the organisational and operational capacity of local authorities to set up and manage new social services. Since July 2023, LNB2 has allocated 27 grants to LGUs to set up and maintain new social services for vulnerable individuals and families, benefiting around 8,000 people (mainly elderly, R/E, children with disabilities, and vulnerable families).
Additionally, UNDP through LNB2 programme has established and maintained efficient partnerships with a large number of CSOs supporting them with capacity and institutional building interventions including grants for provision of services. Partnerships with CSOs representing persons with disabilities and R&E communities have resulted effective to reach out the targeted communities, expand knowledge on rights and entitlements among the groups of interest, design and test new models of social care services, and hold the government authorities accountable. The triangular cooperation between the central and the local governments and the civil society promoted by LNB2 constitutes a great model of approach to a sustained social integration of vulnerable groups.
To ensure the professionalization of the workforce, UNDP has continued to support the training of assistant teachers working with students with disabilities through the LNB2 programme's partnership with Quality Assurance of Pre-University Education, including collaboration with local community centers for children with disabilities. In addition, UNDP is supporting three social work faculties at the universities of Tirana, Elbasan and Shkodra in strengthening social work curricula and the further training of in-service professionals.
Major achievements
Summary of achievements:
• ~178,000 vulnerable people reached through improved access to services, awareness-raising, and capacity-building and CSO outreach (50+ Female)
• All municipalities assisted to improve organizational and operational capacity to set up and manage social services; 32 specifically targeted via tailored technical support and capacity building measures to inform wider roll-out and scaling up.
• 23 municipalities supported to establish and sustain new social services through social fund implementation
Under Outcome 1 – Empowering People
Empowering access to social services as a right and entitlement
At LNB, advocacy, public awareness, and information-sharing efforts strengthened access to inclusive social services for vulnerable groups:
• 3,300 people received integrated social services (40% Roma) in Tirana, Durrës, Lushnjë, and Divjakë. It includes:
o 659 families supported (1,616 women; 92 persons with disabilities);
o 350+ additional beneficiaries incl. 219 Roma
o Economic empowerment: 291 families supported; 135 enrolled in VET; 70 employed
• 1,220 elderly people benefited from newly established municipal social services
• ~400 children with disabilities benefited from services delivered through community-based social services.
• 2,450 vulnerable people reached by CSOs through information, awareness-raising, and advocacy.
• ~4,000 vulnerable children supported through the Home Visiting Programme
• ~4,100 students with disabilities benefited from improved education support through 2,000 trained assistant teachers
• 4,530 at-risk students received scholarships to prevent school dropout.
• ~ 1,700 vulnerable women and girls engaged in participatory budgeting influencing local decision-making.
• 500 young people involved in substance abuse activities and 300 prisoners received STI, HIV, and AIDS prevention and behavior-change services.
• Voluntary Counceling and Testing (VCT) services established in Berati Male Prison and the Tirana Prison Hospital, with 100 prisoners tested for HIV, hepatitis, and other STIs.
Under Outcome 2 - Partnering with local level officials to deliver for citizens
At the local level, support enabled municipalities to better plan, deliver, and coordinate social services:
• ~4,500 municipal staff and service providers capacitated across social service areas
• 16 Local Social Care Plans were updated and costed, with gender perspectives integrated.
• 17 Social Housing Plans were developed and adupted
• 2 municipalities (Divjaka and Patos) established community centres providing new community-based service for vulnerabe groups
• 18 community centres, engaging 90+ professionals established a network to improve service quality and outreach to remote communities.
• 5 sign language instructors and 12 sign language interpreters graduated
• 27 grants to support social service delivery at local level (22 Municipalities) benefiting 4,100 vulnerable people
Under Outcome 3 - Strengthening capacities of central institutions
At the central level, support enhanced institutional capacity for policy implementation, coordination, and oversight of social protection and inclusion policies in line with EU accession priorities, gender equality, and the principle of leaving no one behind:
• Policy & strategies: Social Protection Strategy 2024–2030; Social Inclusion Policy 2024–2028 adopted;
• National deinstitutionalization plan for children 2025 - 2027 developed;
• Action Plan for Older Persons 2025–2030 developed
• Disability & accessibility: CRPD and NAP monitoring reports produced
• EU accession: Chapter 19 roadmap finalized; alignment with EU Directive 2019/882 on accessibility on Products and services supported
• Quality & accountability: Work focused on strengthening the quality and accountability of social services through the development of a standardized monitoring methodology and improvements to Social Fund regulations, enhancing transparency and oversight.
• Academia partnerships: Collaboration with Faculties of Social Sciences (including partnership with HSLU) strengthened to advance research, internships, and updated social work curricula.
• Professionalization in the sector deepened: 1,227 social workers upgraded their qualifications, and the Order of Social Workers sustaining its role as the key professional body aligning national standards with international practice; 575 social workers licensed; ~1,000 members of 60 assistant teacher professional networks capacitated (in partnership with ASCAP).
Knowledge generation & analysis: Child and youth wellbeing indicators published (in partnership with INSTAT); Best practices on social services catalogued; Comparative study on sign language interpretation services 2023; Public Expenditure on Social Care Services 2023; Satisfaction with Social Services, 2023; Mapping of the Social Services in Albania 2023 and 2025, Analysis of Personal Assistance Services from a CRPD perspective.
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