Physical Health Albania Project #53459

ABC Health Foundation

by ABC Health Foundation - Fondacioni Shendetesor ABC

Project Report | Sep 30, 2026
Persevering in Service

By Gerion Treska | Executive Director

Summer in Tirana brings intense heat to the city's streets, and for our palliative care patients — many of them women living with the long-term effects of breast cancer treatment — those months demand quiet resilience. Our team adapted alongside them, scheduling lymphedema sessions in the early morning hours so patients could travel while the city was still cool. Even through a summer of significant internal transition, we continued to serve over 50 patients with more than 300 appointments. Each one of those visits represents a woman who showed up, found care, and left a little better than she arrived.

This summer also brought the most significant change in ABC Health Foundation's 32-year history. On July 1st, we made the decision to relocate our clinic to a new facility — one with better infrastructure, closer proximity to the Mother Teresa Central Hospital and the Oncology Hospital, and the space to expand the services we offer. After three decades rooted in one location, this move carries both the weight of what we are leaving and the hope of what we are building. The weeks that followed involved intensive packing, coordination, and renovation work. Our team has poured themselves into preparing a space worthy of the patients who will walk through its doors. We expect to begin welcoming patients at the new facility in mid-October.

In the midst of this transition, a congregation of brothers and sisters from Berlin donated medical equipment that will serve our palliative care patients, our lymphedema patients, and all those who come through ABC's doors in the seasons ahead. It is a tangible expression of solidarity across borders — a reminder that this work is sustained not only by what we do in Tirana, but by a wider community that believes in it.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and we are preparing to mark it with purpose: a full month of subsidized and free treatment sessions for palliative care and lymphedema patients. This is our opportunity to reach women who may not yet know we exist, to lower the barriers to care for those who have been managing alone, and to expand the community of women we have the privilege to serve. If you would like to see that month make the greatest possible impact, please consider sharing this project with someone who shares your compassion for these women. Every contribution directly supports the sessions we are preparing to offer.

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Jun 2, 2026
Impacting through medical education

By Gerion Treska | Executive Director

Medical education has always been at the heart of what ABC Health Foundation does in Albania. This season has brought some of the most fruitful training opportunities we have seen, not only through visiting international colleagues, but through our own Albanian staff taking that work to physicians across the country.

Dr. John Witt visited Albania for a second time, leading a concentrated week of teaching and exchange. His sessions reached a wide range of medical professionals:

ABC staff receiving continuing education,
practicing Albanian physicians who joined an open training,
Family Practice residents and general medical students at the Medical University of Tirana, and MSc students at the European University of Tirana.

Dr. Valbona our Medical Director, reflected on what made these sessions particularly valuable: the format became a conversation. Residents asked questions. Experiences were exchanged from both sides. For younger physicians in Albania, that kind of open, collegial learning environment is rare and it is exactly what your support makes possible.

The ABC team, Dr. Valbona and our headnurse Flutura, traveled to multiple locations outside Tirana as part of the SOLIDAR Project, training groups of Albanian General Doctors in areas that often receive little outside support. This work reflects something we care deeply about: that medical education in Albania should not depend solely on international visitors, but should grow from within from Albanian physicians investing in Albanian physicians. Every training our local team leads is a step toward that sustainable future.

Beyond the clinic walls, a community health outreach in Laç brought together the ABC team, GZB partner organisation and Dr. Witt to serve approximately 50 patients. These moments of direct care, combined with the sustained work of education, reflect our conviction that excellent healthcare taught and practiced with integrity is one of the most lasting ways to serve the people of Albania.

Links:

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Jan 26, 2026
There is light after this!

By Gerion Treska | Project Leader/Excecutive Director

Pink October

October holds deep meaning for our Palliative Care Center. It's a month dedicated to awareness, education, and unity under the pink ribbon that represents breast cancer not just in Albania, but around the world.

We use this opportunity, along with the months before and after, to inform women of all ages about the vital importance of regular breast health checkups. Through our center, we've walked alongside dozens of women whose stories powerfully illustrate what a breast cancer diagnosis can mean. These courageous women have chosen to keep fighting despite the difficulties and the profound impact this disease has had on their lives.
The numbers tell a sobering story. Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in Albania, with an estimated incidence of 51.1 per 100,000 women and around 1,022 new cases in recent data. It accounts for 6.3% of all cancer deaths. Because health data remains fragmented across our country, we believe the actual numbers are likely even higher.

With over 100 women receiving lymphedema treatment at our center, we remain one of the most important providers of this essential service, not just in Tirana, but nationwide. Since state health institutions don't offer lymphedema treatment, accessing this care becomes even more challenging for patients who desperately need it.

Lymphedema is a chronic condition that causes swelling in the arm, hand, or chest due to lymph fluid buildup when the lymphatic system is damaged during cancer treatment, whether through surgery or radiation. It affects up to 40% of breast cancer patients, often caused by the removal of underarm lymph nodes. While we can't always prevent lymphedema, early detection and proper management, including compression garments, are crucial for living with this condition.

At ABC, our Christ-centered approach means we go the extra mile in caring for our patients. We offer professional treatment through our nurses, physiotherapists, and doctors. But we know that wouldn't be complete without addressing spiritual needs as well. Our staff prays with and for our patients, walking with them through their burdens and pointing them toward Jesus Christ as the ultimate source of hope and comfort. That's why we've named our care after the motto "There is light after this" because so many women, after surgery or treatment, feel isolated and worry they'll only be a burden to their families. We want them to know their lives can continue with purpose and hope.

During October, we organized an awareness campaign focused on the importance of early breast cancer detection. We hosted a gathering for our lymphedema patients to share their stories and the hope we've found in the Gospel. We also offered free treatment throughout the month, and we feel truly blessed to provide not only physical healing but spiritual comfort to these remarkable women.

Palliative Care

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