Health Minister Klodiana Spahiu presented new policies from Korça for child protection and family support. She announced that the 2027 budget provides for €50 million to revise the Baby Bonus. According to her, these funds will be translated into monthly benefits for children up to the age of 5 in low-income families, starting July 1, 2027.
The minister stressed that this is a new addition. It is provided for the first time in the draft budget for next year and aims to support low-income families during the earliest stage of children’s development. According to Spahiu, the 2027 budget will also include 1.4 billion leke for 28 social care institutions.
Meanwhile, 480 million leke will be allocated to the Social Fund, with the aim of supporting municipalities in establishing and expanding local social services. The minister made these figures known during a message delivered in Korça, where the model of moving from institutional care toward supporting children in families and communities is being implemented.
She also spoke about the new law on alternative care and the Child Guarantee Plan 2026–2030. She emphasized that child protection is not only an institutional obligation but a national responsibility. According to the minister, in cooperation with local government, the European Union and UNICEF, the aim is for the model implemented in Korça to be extended across the country.
“Every child deserves a family. Every family deserves support,” Spahiu said during her speech. She added that the success of a government is not measured only by economic development, but also by how it cares for its children.
She closed her message with the words: “No child without care. No family without support.” According to the minister, Korça is a concrete example of this transformation, from institutional care toward services that support the family and the community.
The model is intended to be expanded across Albania. Spahiu’s announcement thus includes three main lines of the 2027 draft budget: the revision of the Baby Bonus with monthly benefits for children up to 5 years old from July 1, 2027, funding of 1.4 billion leke for 28 social care institutions, and the allocation of 480 million leke to the Social Fund in support of municipalities.
Implementation of these measures is expected to begin with the entry into force of next year’s budget. Meanwhile, monthly benefits for low-income families will start from July 2027.