Social Mapping in the Municipality of Elbasan for Children with Disabilities

Project title: Conducting LNOB social mapping and evidence-based policymaking in the Municipality of Elbasan and with a focus on Day-care Center Services for Children with Disabilities. 
Duration of the project: July 2023- May 2024
Donor: The Association for Local Autonomy of Albania
Aim and Objectives of the Project: The overall aim of the project is to contribute towards the social inclusion of disadvantaged groups, improving the quality of life as well as fostering social cohesion at a local level by promoting the localization of Agenda 2030 and its objectives, in particular, the Leave no One Behind – LNOB principle at the municipal level.

The specific objectives: 
- Contribute towards better design of local social protection policies for vulnerable groups in harmonization with national development plans
- Support the Municipality of Elbasan in implementing LNOB social mapping methodology in coordination with the local government staff. The methodology is elaborated within the NALAS e-Learning course “LNOB Social Mapping and Evidence-based Policy Making”.
- Support the Municipality of Elbasan in the development of policy recommendations based on social mapping findings and in line with priority SDGs and respective targets.
- Support the Municipality of Elbasan in the integration of the policy recommendations within the respective social protection program.

Key Achievements of the Social Mapping in Elbasan 
- In collaboration with Elbasan municipality, identification of 1,080 children with disabilities across all 18 administrative units (564 girls and 516 boys), including 111 children from the Roma community.
- 324 families of children with disabilities interviewed (30% of the total), offering a strong evidence base for local policymaking.
- Geographical and socio-economic profiling completed, identifying rural/urban disparities, service access gaps, and discrimination risks.
- Six focus groups and 15 in-depth interviews conducted with stakeholders, parents, professionals, and institutions to ensure multi-perspective input.
- Mapping of daycare and support services: 3 public and 6 non-public service centers were profiled with detailed descriptions and capacity assessments.
- Assessment of unmet needs in education, healthcare, therapy, social support, and public transport for children with disabilities, especially girls and rural families.
- Identification of key risk factors including poverty, food insecurity, limited internet access, healthcare gaps, and vulnerability to shocks.
- Institutional collaboration established with municipal structures for data collection, validation, and action planning.
- Practical recommendations developed to guide short- and long-term interventions tailored to the needs of children with disabilities and their families.
-Presentation of the LNOB Social Mapping Report in Elbasan Municipality. Click here for more information. 

Read below the Social Mapping for Children with Disabilities in Elbasan Municipality 

 

ElbasanMunicipality_SocialMappingreport_Final PDF DOCUMENT