USAID continues help to health system

TIRANA, Feb. 15 – U.S. Peace Corps Director Hill Denham, as well as Peace Corps staff and volunteers met last week with Minister of Health Petrit Vasili to discuss current and future cooperation in the field of health education.
The meeting was an occasion for the Peace Corps to promote the work that the health education volunteers are doing throughout the country, and an opportunity for the Peace Corps to recognize the support given by the Ministry of Health, Institute of Public Health and the Directories of Public Health in the regions.
This meeting addressed successes achieved through the cooperation between volunteers and Albanian health care service providers, but also some of the challenges in communicating messages about health to the broader public.
The Peace Corps Health Education Program was established in 2004 and focuses on health education and promotion, to reduce the risk of many types of ailments. At-risk groups in many rural communities have had very little education on health related topics. Peace Corps volunteers, in cooperation with Directories of Public Health and local heath staff, civic groups and peer educators work to get such information out into the communities. They do this by going into classrooms, setting up health information booths, talking to parents, and using public advertising. Peace Corps has 19 health education volunteers working in Albania.
Health Minister Petrit Vasili thanked Peace Corps for its work on health promotion in Albania and stressed his commitment to continued cooperation.