Ida Ismail
In a sector where citizens have been denouncing bribery in healthcare for years, official statistics speak of silence. During 2024, almost no complaints of corruption were registered in most healthcare institutions. The latest report from the Together for Life Association, based on monitoring of 13 healthcare institutions, highlights a disturbing paradox: Either corruption is not reported, or the mechanisms to denounce it do not function.
According to official data from monitored institutions, most of them report zero complaints of bribery or corruptive abuses. The Health Care Services Operator (OSKSH) states that during 2024, no such complaints were registered with the Central Directorate.
The Mandatory Health Insurance Fund (FSDKSH) reports only one complaint, which was handled according to legal procedures.
During the roundtable organized by Together for Life, HIDACCI representative Majlinda Thomaj announced that from 2016 to 2024, around 90 whistleblowing cases and 12 requests for protection from retaliation have been investigated across all sectors. “From the healthcare sector, only 5 cases have been filed with HIDACCI, two of which are related to conflict of interest,” Thomaj underlined.
Meanwhile, the representative of the Minister of State for Public Administration and Anti-Corruption, Silvana Ramadani, spoke about the strategic importance of healthcare in the fight against corruption: "The healthcare system is one of the most challenging and vital pillars, as the Services provided in this sector affect us all. This is the main reason why this sector is a top priority in the fight against corruption."
She also highlighted that the government has placed anti-corruption coordinators in 9 central institutions under the Ministry of Health, including the QSUT and the country's main hospitals, as an effort to increase public accountability and institutional integrity.
Another important aspect was raised by the Director of the Healthcare Services Operator, Jeta Deda, who emphasized the legal limits of the role of healthcare institutions.
"Investigating corruption is not the duty of institutions because the law on healthcare obliges them to provide healthcare Services," she said.
However, Deda added that this does not mean they can avoid the duty to refer corruption cases.
Lack of transparency and recommendations
The report also highlights the lack of public registers of complaints about corruption in healthcare, limiting transparency and accountability. In this context, Together for Life recommends the establishment of a unified complaints management system, which goes beyond a formal register and serves as a real mechanism for reporting, monitoring and institutional follow-up.
The Together for Life association has recommended undertaking a comprehensive inter-institutional strategy, in collaboration with civil society and experts in the field, with the aim of promoting a culture of reporting corruption in the health sector.
Also, the need for a coordinated review of the legal and sub-legal framework is highlighted, with a focus on clarifying institutional competencies, both at the normative and implementation levels, with the aim of avoiding overlapping functions and duplication of structures that perform similar functions within the same institution.
Taking into consideration the reported vacancy in one of the hospital institutions for the position of Anti-Corruption Coordinator, it is recommended to take the necessary measures to immediately fill this and other vacancies, in order to strengthen institutional mechanisms for preventing and reporting corruption.acqj.al
