Water Utilities are Invited to Join – SHUKALB Receives Grant from GIZ ORF MMS to Support Municipalities and Water Utilities in Albania in Managing the Covid-19 Crisis

SHUKALB has received financing for a Project Grant titled “ORF MMS – Providing Support to Municipalities and Public Utilities Managing the Covid-19 Crisis in Albania” commissioned from the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and administratively embedded in the GIZ Project “Open Regional Fund for Southeast Europe – Modernization of Municipal Services (ORF MMS)”. The Project is being developed using the existing Danube Learning Partnership (D-Leap) Water Safety Plan and Crisis Management (WSP&CM) Program, which has been adjusted for coping with the influence of the COVID19 pandemic.  The Project is supported and coo financed by the International Association of Water Utilities in the Danube River Catchment Area (IAWD).

SHUKALB will be offering the program for 10 water utilities, starting from January 2021.  As part of the preparatory activities, SHUKALB organized on 16, 17, 18 and 21 December 2020, the Training of Trainers (ToT).  The ToT was organized as a hybrid event, where the SHUKALB trainers were located at Hotel Mondial, and the Technical Partner of the Program, Christian Phloberger was leading the training from his office in Vienna, via the ZOOM platform.  The training was attended by trainers Pirro Cenko, Migena Kukli, Lorenc Facja, and Elton Hasanaj, and via zoom the trainer Kastriot Shehi as well as other trainers from Bosnia Herzegovina and Kosovo.

During the four (4) day ToT, the participants led by the trainer, were introduced to topics of Water Safety and Risk Management; Crisis Management Foundations, and they also performed exercises to demonstrate in practice the management process of a crisis at water utility.

Having a Water Safety and Crisis Management Plan is very crucial for water utilities in guaranteeing water supply in times of unexpected events.  The Water Safety and Crisis Management Program come at a critical time, as is the global crisis faced with the COVID-19 pandemic. The program has been adjusted to help the water utilities be better prepared in responding to the challenges brought by the pandemic, but it also aims to address more holistically, other types of crisis including those caused of natural causes.

As the number of water utilities that can enroll in the program is limited to 10, SHUKALB invites all the interested water utilities to express their interest, by contacting Olta Ceca at program@shukalb.al, 0697081515.[:]