GJIROKASTRA REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY 2005 PAGE 14 Part I The Current Situation in the Gjirokastra Region
Poverty Poverty in Albania, as explained in the Progress Report 2003 of the National Strategy for Socio-Economic Development (NSSED), means more than just inequality in the distribution of goods. 1 It is a multidimensional concept that embodies basic living standards such as food, clothing, and shelter, and includes elements such as loss of hope, exclusion from economic and social life, an inability to preserve social traditions, lack of infrastructure, and low security. 2 Poverty also encompasses aspects of deprivation beyond material consumption, like the psychological pain of being poor, a sense of vulnerability to external events, and powerlessness toward the institutions of the state and society. 3 The World Bank maintains that broad improvements in human welfare will not occur unless the impoverished receive access to higher quality health, education, water, sanitation, and electricity services. In the absence of improvements such as these, freedom from illness and freedom from illiteracy, which represent two of the most important ways the underprivileged can escape poverty, will remain elusive to many. 4 The extent of poverty in the Gjirokastra region, however, cannot simply be described as a widespread phenomenon that affects all poor people in the same way. Rather, poverty is defined by a host of regional variations. Rugged geographical terrain, harsh climate, household size, as well as lengthy distances from health centers, educational facilities and urban centers, all influence regional poverty. 5 Further still, particular social categories that involve, amongst others, divisions of age, ethnicity, gender and ability, tend to complicate the definition of poverty in the region. Human Development Index (HDI) Human development is a process of enlarging people’s choices by expanding human potential. The three essential capabilities for human development are for people to lead long and healthy lives, to be knowledgeable, and to have a 1Albania National Report: On Progress Toward Achieving the Millennium Development Goals, Ministry of Foreign Affairs & NSSED Department of the Ministry of Finance, Albania, 2004. 2A Qualitative Assessment of Poverty in 10 Areas of Albania, World Bank , Washington D.C., June 2001. 3 Human Development Sector Unit: Europe and Central Asia Region, Albania GJIROKASTRA REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY 2005 decent standard of living. If these basic elements are not achieved, many choices remain unavailable and many opportunities continue to be inaccessible. The realm of human development, however, goes a step further by acknowledging that essential areas of choice range from political, economic and social opportunities for being creative and productive, to enjoying self-respect, empowerment and retaining a sense of belonging to a community. The United Nations Development Programme describes the Human Development Index (HDI) as a composite index that measures the average achievements of a country based on three basic dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, as measured by life expectancy at birth; knowledge, as measured by the adult literacy rate and the combined gross enrolment ratio for primary, secondary and tertiary schools; and a decent standard of living, as measured by GDP per capita in purchasing power parity (PPP) US dollars. The index is constructed using globally available indicators and a methodology that is simple and transparent. Thus, while the concept of human development is much broader than any single composite index can measure, the HDI offers a persuasive alternative to income as a measure of human well-being. 6 The calculation of the HDI is based on data from the Living Standards Measurement Survey (LSMS) 2002, conducted by the Albanian Institute of Statistics (INSTAT). According to the LSMS 2002, the geographical data for Albania are categorized as follows: Tirana: the Municipality of Tirana; Coastal area: Delvine, Durres, Fier, Kavaje, Lac, Lezhe, Lushnje, Mallakaster, Sarande, and Vlora; Central area: Berat, Devoll, Elbasan, Gjirokastra, Kolonje, Korce, Kruje, Kucove, Malesi e Madhe, Mat, Miredite, Peqin, Permet, Pogradec, Puke, Skrapar, Shkoder, and Tepelene; and Mountain area: Bulqize, Diber, Gramsh, Has, Kukes, Librazhd, and Tropoje. - Poverty Assessment, Vol. 1 of 1, World Bank, November 2003. 4 World Development Report 2004: Making Services Work For Poor People, The World Bank Group (online). 5 Human Development Sector Unit: Europe and Central Asia Region, Albania - Poverty Assessment, Vol. 1 of 1, World Bank, November 2003. 6 Human Development Report Office, 2004 (online). PAGE 15
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