TIRANA, May 19 – The COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative effect on the lives of many Albanian families as 76 percent of them report that they do not have sufficient food during this time, according to a recent survey by World Vision Albania. Based on the survey results, 68 percent of respondents expressed concern that in the near future the COVID-19 situation will affect their employment or self-employment in the long-term. Moreover, the survey finds that unemployment due to the situation has increased by 10 percent.
The report focused on several aspects on which the pandemic has had its effect. These include the sources of income before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, opportunities for families to meet basic needs, mental health and domestic violence, education of children, basic knowledge of families on the prevention of the spreading of Covid-19.
In addition to the negative impact on sources of income, the report shows that being forced stay at home has also affected the overall mental health of people and has led to a surge in domestic violence. According to the survey, 35 percent of respondents report very high levels of anxiety and stress while 49 percent report that children have witnessed quarreling between adults at home and 17 percent claim that children have witnessed physical violence in the family.
Furthermore, in terms of online school, one in 10 children could not attend classes online, nor could five in 10 children with disabilities.
The assessment report during the pandemic was conducted by World Vision Albania for 1199 families in 15 municipalities of the country. The data collection was conducted from April 28 to May 8 in 2020 and the average duration of each telephone interview lasted 44 minutes.
In April, the government revealed the extended financial assistance plan to cope with the coronavirus emergency, which amounted to over 220 million dollars, out of which 150 million dollars were to be paid out in sovereign guarantees and 70 million dollars to be handed out as one-time payments.
The cost of the economic relief package, comprised of 150 million dollars in the form sovereign guarantee and 70,400,000 dollars to be paid out to affected employees, totals 220,400,000 dollars. In March, the government introduced the first seven-point financial assistance plan which totaled 300 million euros, both financial packages combined cost the government budget 500 million euros so far.
