Evis Sala seems to have not yet clearly separated her role, is she Minister of Health or Minister of Foreign Affairs. While the health system in Albania is suffering from problems, the minister is spending more time in European chancelleries than in hospital corridors where patients wait for hours.
Recently, Sala announced a meeting in Brussels with Commissioner Várhelyi on "Chapter 28", promising reforms and EU standards. But, while she smiles in her Brussels offices, the reality on the ground is grim. Patients continue to face shortages of medicines, endless queues, poor hospital infrastructure, medical costs becoming unaffordable, doctors and nurses leaving en masse for the EU for better conditions.
But Evis Sala does not have time to look closely at these problems as she is busy traveling abroad. It seems that the minister has also taken over the duties of her colleague, Ferit Hoxha, focusing on diplomacy. However, the poor hospital infrastructure and lack of equipment are not solved with photos in Brussels, but with a presence on the ground.
European integration is an important objective, but it cannot be achieved through diplomatic relations, while our hospitals do not even meet the minimum service requirements. Therefore, it is important that Minister Sala sits down and understands that Albanian healthcare is failing here, not in Brussels.
