In the framework of the EU-funded project “Addressing COVID-19 Challenges within the Migrant and Refugee Response in the Western Balkans”, implemented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Albania’s Border and Migration Police received an additional  donation of 5,700 pieces of personal protective equipment against COVID-19 worth 22,344 euro to step up infection prevention measures.

The donation includes alcohol-based hand sanitizers, masks and face shields which will be used by border police officers and personnel working at migrant reception facilities and border crossing points. The donation has been made possible thanks to the contribution of the European Union’s Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI) and was handed over by IOM Albania at the premises of the Border and Migration Police.

This EU-funded regional project is running from April 2020 until July 2021 with an overall envelope of 8 million Euro, and it is implemented in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Kosovo*[i]. The project aims to support the main migration and asylum management actors in the region to address the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and maintain services operational.  

[1] This designation is without prejudice to the position on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.