IOM in Albania contributed to the expansion of the Registration and Temporary Accommodation Center in Kapshtica to support the overall functioning of the facility and better respond to specific needs. 

Established in 2019, the Center had a capacity to accommodate 60 irregular migrants, with the support of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, IOM facilitated the addition of 50 new beds. Now, the capacities of the Center are brought to 110 beds, with an available dedicated area for families and unaccompanied or separate migrant children. Registration, quarantine and WASH capacities were also increased. 

Providing access to protection-sensitive assistance and right-based services to migrants remains a priority for IOM in Albania, as such, to tailor our response to the identified needs, parallel maintenance interventions were also conducted in the Center. 

This assistance was made possible within the scope of IOM regional project “Addressing mixed migration flows in the Western Balkans”, which provides concerted efforts in the Western Balkans to counter the smuggling and trafficking of migrants along the route and support in the development of dedicated tools and procedures to border police agencies.