Strategic policy options for SDG financing in Albania

Building on the earlier work on SDGs, UNDP, UNICEF and ILO along with UN WOMEN and UNPFA will closely work with Ministry of Finance and Economy, Ministry of Health and Social Protection, the Parliament of Albania and other key institutions to ensure that institutional capacities at national and local level are supported to develop feasible solutions and identify fiscal space to progressively increase SDG-related spending for women, men and children in Albania. The programme will contribute to achieve the following results:

• A national strategy for financing comprehensive social protection floors is developed, discussed nationally and ready to be integrated in the Mid-term Budget Framework (MTBF) through national and social dialogue
• Feasible options are identified and agreed with Government Authorities to address unfunded mandates at the local level and articulate adequate financing options
• Innovative approaches and tools and other mechanisms are developed to pilot and evaluate the impact of fiscal policies
• Public institutions’ capacities are enhanced to articulate, implement and review resilient budgets that reflect increasing SDG-related spending.

Within this framework, the ILO implements this joint programme as one of the three Participating UN Organizations (PUNO) with UNDP and UNICEF, and in partnership with UNFPA and UN Women. Building upon the on-going SDG project on social protection, the ILO components will focus on the following issues related to social protection:

• Social protection benefits for children, women and the elderly are designed and costed with financing options
• Impact analysis of public investment in childcare and child and family allowance on poverty reduction, human development and gender equality
• Feasibility study of long-term care benefits and services based on the needs assessment analysis
• Assessment of effectiveness and efficiency of targeting mechanism of cash assistance (economic aid)
• Feasibility study of innovative financing mechanisms and instruments that involve the private sector to catalyse additional funding.
• Development of financing options for a shock responsive social protection including technical assistance on the response of COVID-19
• Policy dialogue amongst national stakeholders to fully implement social protection floors and integrate them into MTBF
• Training of local authorities on efficient and effective financial management of child care.