LEAVE NO ONE BEHIND 01.06.2017 – 31.05.2021 ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT JULY 2019 – JUNE 2020 Submitted by UNITED NATIONS JULY 2020 General Information This report is presented to the Programme Steering Committee and it provides a summary of the Leave No One Behind (LNB) programme’s main achievements during the implementation period of June 1st, 2019 – June 30th, 2020. The LNB programme, financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), is a four- year programme (2017-2021) implemented by UN agencies under the management of UNDP. The imple- mentation arrangements are formalized through a Standard Administrative Agreement on May 31, 2017, covering the period of June 1, 2017 – May 31, 2021. Its main goal is to empower the vulnerable persons in Albania to have equal access to public services and opportunities, to have a voice in public decision-making affecting their lives. Executive Summary The Government of Albania is committed to address social protection and inclusion, with a particular focus on the most marginalised groups with high proportions of them living close to the poverty line. Social Fund1, the Social Enterprise Fund2 and the Social Housing programmes are operational and constantly resourced in the recent years where Social Housing Programme is tripled in 20203 and integrated in the Medium-term Budget Program of MHSP. Cash benefits continue to take up more than 95% of social pro- tection expenditure at the central level in 2018 and 2019 as well. Non-cash social protection expenditure, including administration of social care services as well as management activities, has slightly increased in nominal terms (988 million Lek in 2018 and 2019, as opposed to 900 million Lek in 2017). The pace of growth of general government expenditures was faster than the increase in social protection expendi- tures. Local government own expenditure to social care services has increased and for the first time in 2019, local spending from discretionary resources is bigger than central government spending on social care services. In terms of the target municipalities, the 15 LNB target municipalities4 have spent 637 mil- lion Lek from their discretionary resources in social services, or more than 70% of all local discretionary spending in the sector. Leave No One Behind (LNB) programme (2017-2021) funded by Swiss Agency for Development and Coop- eration (SDC) and implemented by UN agencies under the management of UNDP is a response to govern- ment’s efforts to social inclusion of VGs. Its main goal is to empower the vulnerable persons in Albania to have equal access to public services and opportunities, to have a voice in public decision-making affecting their lives. LNB programme focuses on three interlinked outcomes: • Empowered persons with disabilities, Roma and Egyptians, and vulnerable women, to request and have access to social services, as a pre-condition to improve their lives • Enabled municipalities to effectively manage the provision of rights-based social services and promote social inclusion 1 150 million Lek were appropriated in the budget of the Ministry of Health and Social Protection. 2 249 760 000 ALL 3 2,629,000,000 ALL in 2020 vs 730,000,000 ALL in 2019 44 Midline budget survey UNDP/LNB 2020 2 • Strengthen capacities of national institutions to implement their policy framework, to fund and pro- vide social services LNB has advanced in its third year of operation to support the Government of Albania, at central and local level. Continuous support in capacity building, advocacy, research and technical assistance have yielded visible results in achievement of programme outcomes and overall goal. Concrete results are achieved at several levels: (i) at community level: Vulnerable groups are empowered on their rights and entitlements to social services and are mobilized for a meaningful participation in advocacy forums and public consultation mechanisms supported by the programme (Local Social Dialogue Groups, Forums of Persons with Dis- abilities, Youth Voice Network, field reporters and Y-Peer Network) to advocate for their rights at cen- tral and local level, which are accounted in local social care plans and the public agenda of the gov- ernment. Over 7,000 R&E, PwD, women and youth engaged in forums and debates with local author- ities on issues of their concern such as access to social care services, employment, health and inclusive education. During COVID-19 lockdown, vulnerable groups were supported with information on pre- ventive measures on COVID-19 as well as emergency support and online counselling; (ii) at local government level: Thirty-six municipalities5 (59%) have developed social care plans and 19 (51%) of them already endorsed and responding to the needs of vulnerable men and women. Munic- ipalities have strengthened their capacities in social care service planning, budgeting, management and delivery. New innovative models of integrated social services are implemented in 3 municipali- ties6 and community-based services for persons with disabilities are being implemented at 8 munici- palities7 providing models of quality service delivery for vulnerable groups. Over 2,750 R&E, PwD, women and youth received quality social care services. Participatory Budgeting Network established in 6 municipalities along with an online network of professionals of community centers for children with disabilities operating in 8 municipalities8 to enable peer exchange and provision of online spe- cialized social services during COVID-19. Fifteen best practices across the country in social care ser- vices provision for vulnerable population is completed and available for dissemination and scale up at local level. (iii) at policy level: Relevant legal and financial framework for the efficient operation of social enterprises is in place and registration of social enterprises has initiated; legal framework on Social Housing is further completed with 15 by-laws approved and 17 pending approval, Law on Youth approved; the Law 93/2014 on Inclusion of and Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities has been completed with 1 by-law approved and 3 pending approval and; the Protocol on the Functioning of Public and Non- Public, Non-Residential Centers, Providing Services for Persons with Disabilities, during and after the Natural Disaster Period including the COVID-19 pandemic adopted. The work is ongoing to review existing national policies and action plans and alignment with EU accession agenda (Pre-University 5 Tirane, Durres, Korce, Shkoder, Vlore, Mallakaster, Sarande, Shijak, Malesia e Madhe, Librazhd, Maliq, Permet, Ura vajgurore, Fier, Pogradec, Bulqize 6 Kruja, Fier and Lezha 7 Diber, Ure Vajgurore, Permet. Dibra, Permet, Ure Vajgurore, Lushnje, Pogradec, Sarande, Bulqize, Shijak 8 Pogradec, Lushnje, Bulqize, Diber, Shijak, Ura Vajgurore, Përmet, and Saranda 3 Education Policy, National Action Plan of the Social Housing Strategy 2015 – 2025 and its Monitoring and Evaluation Framework, National Action Plan for PWD). LNB was subject to an independent mid-term review in January-February 2020 which rated highly satis- factory its relevance to the country’s needs and satisfactory its progress towards expected results/out- comes (Outcome 2: capacitated local government to deliver social services and Outcome 3: strengthening policy framework on social inclusion) and highly satisfactory progress to Outcome 1 (community empow- erment). The mid-term review acknowledged LNB’s contribution to systemic change in the country’s policy reform and legal framework on social inclusion, social care and social services and its responsiveness to the needs of vulnerable groups and their empowerment via advocacy, lobbying, networking, and awareness raising actions promoting social inclusion and social services at the national and/or local level.9 It also provided a set of recommendations to support LNB’s performance in the remaining implementation period for the current phase and its potential follow-up phase focusing mainly on i) ensuring that all municipalities achieve a basic level of progress linked to planning, budgeting and monitoring of social care services and provision, ii) ensuring full transfer of the results and their sustained operation by the partners, iii) contin- uing efforts to support the government to strengthen the function and delivery operations (effectiveness/ efficiency) of the recently established set of state financing mechanisms for social inclusion and social care services, iv) continuing to support the development of social care models (e.g. integrated service ap- proach, financing models for sharing of social services), v) supporting networking, knowledge sharing, peer to peer support, and the capitalization of experiences and results achieved so far between different partner groups. LNB faced two major challenges during this reporting period i) the aftermath of earthquake in November 2019 and ii) COVID 19 lock-down during March-June 2020, yet kept its focus sharp on supporting the most vulnerable in close coordination with local government and its partners at local level. LNB succeeded to adjust its modus operandi by being flexible in rapidly shifting from physical /face to face activities to the new reality of physical distancing, remote online working, monitoring and counselling of beneficiaries re- lying extensively on technology and ensuring delivery of activities as planned and also needed by benefi- ciaries. To maximize support and avoid overlapping, the interventions of UN agencies created synergies