In the pan-European region, the UNECE-WHO/Europe Protocol on Water and Health provides a sound framework for translating the human rights to water and sanitation into practice and for achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6 and other water, sanitation, and hygiene-related targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Protocol encourages its Parties to ensure access to water and sanitation for everyone and places particular emphasis on providing equitable access to water and sanitation “for all members of the population, especially those who suffer a disadvantage or social exclusion” (article 5, l).

In November 2013, Parties to the Protocol adopted the Equitable Access Score-card, an analytical tool that can help Governments and other stakeholders to establish a baseline measure of the equity of access to water and sanitation, identify related priorities, discuss further actions to be taken and evaluate progress through a process of self-assessment. 

Albania, Party to the Protocol since 2002, announced its intention to apply the Equitable Access Score-card at national level through correspondence and exchange with the UNECE secretariat in 2022. Subsequently, in 2023, following Montenegro, Albania carried out the second pilot assessment of the draft revised Equitable Access Score-card integrating new parameters, including lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Workshop on Equitable Access to Water and Sanitation in Albania will gather more than 50 participants to review and analyze the preliminary findings of the self-assessment. In particular, government and civil society representatives and other concerned stakeholders will discuss the governance framework in place to allow for an enabling environment for equitable access to water and sanitation.

The workshop will primarily shed light on geographical disparities, specific barriers faced by vulnerable and marginalized groups, and affordability issues surrounding safe access to water and sanitation for all. The workshop will allow a broad range of stakeholders from government and civil society to comment, complement, and validate the findings and identify priority areas for action.

The findings workshop is an official follow-up to the Inception Workshop on Equitable Access to Water and Sanitation in Albania, held in Tirana on 30 October 2023.