
Tirana, 6 May 2021 – CRCA / ECPAT Albania, through this open public letter, addressed to the Minister of Health, Mrs. Ogerta Manastirliu, demands the immediate vaccination of the staff of all public institutions and NGOs that work directly with children and adolescents victims of crime and those who face the risk of infection from the Covid-19 virus every day.
Public institutions and civil society organizations, together with their staff, are at the forefront of social protection of citizens, providing them with a wide range of social, psycho-social and legal services, which guarantee care, protection and rehabilitation. . These services, like doctors, are offered face-to-face, over-exposing everyone to Covid and his serious consequences.
There has not been a single day or week that our staff haven’t been in direct contact with children and young people. Some of our best colleagues have not been able to win the fight against this terrible disease and have lost their lives. Since the beginning of the pandemic, none of us, whether public institution or CSO, has shut down psycho-social or legal services as we need to always be available to support the victims when called upon! But on the other hand it is unfortunate that in the meantime all doctors were vaccinated, already for months, whilst employees in the field of psycho-social and legal, were left without, its as if our services are not important to citizens, especially the smallest and most vulnerable!
However the Ministry of Health is still on time to correct this forgetfulness! CRCA / ECPAT Albania, one of the oldest organizations in the country advocating for the rights of children and young people, today publicly urges you to immediately start vaccinating public staff and NGOs that provide free social care services , as well as other direct social services for children and young people. This would enable us to guarantee the continuity of our services without interruption, so that no citizen is put at risk for receiving them.
On behalf of CRCA / ECPAT Albania
Director General
Altin Hazizaj,