Patients with tumors are going abroad; the number of diagnoses at UHCT fell by 45% in 2024

Tumor diseases are advancing among the Albanian population faster than the state’s ability to provide the necessary medications for their treatment.

As a result, a considerable number of patients are forced to leave the country for treatment, facing multiple challenges, starting with high financial costs.

“Since in our country we do not have Actinomycin D available and we are dealing with an aggressive form, we believe the child should be treated abroad.” This was the statement of a family with a child suffering from a tumor, found by the State Supreme Audit Institution during an inspection carried out at UHCT regarding the effectiveness of anti-neoplastic medications.

Although the patient was provided with the first treatment cycle, the next steps were not followed by the Inter-Hospital Commission, as the patient left the country for treatment.

Between 2020 and 2024, around 12 tumor patients who needed treatment with Actinomycin D, 8 of them were sent abroad for medical care.

While the spread of tumor diseases has been increasing year after year, the number of diagnoses at the Mother Teresa University Hospital Center has been decreasing.

According to the State Supreme Audit Institution, last year UHCT recorded 2,024 diagnoses for tumor diseases, or 45 percent fewer than in 2023.

On the other hand, last year 3,374 people lost their lives to these diseases, or 1 percent more compared to 2023.

A large number of people with tumor diseases choose to seek treatment abroad due to insecurity and lack of medication.

According to the Institution, out of 253 anti-tumor drugs authorized for marketing in the Republic of Albania, 46 percent were never imported at any point during the audit period, indicating a lack of effective mechanisms linking authorization to actual supply in the market.

It is also noted that there is a low level of laboratory control over the quality of anti-tumor medications.

According to the Institution, not all mechanisms of institutional control and oversight by the audited entities have been exhaustively utilized, negatively affecting the proper management of processes across the entire drug availability chain.

In this context, the issues stem from several intertwined factors such as budget under-financing, shortcomings in needs-based planning by Services, procedural delays, irregularities in medication administration and supply oversight, as well as a lack of monitoring by responsible authorities, resulting in systemic deficiencies in providing healthcare services for the target group of patients with tumor diseases.

“KORÇA BOOM”