Albania | Heatwave – Early Action Protocol Operations Update (sEAP number: sEAP2025AL01 | Operation Number: MDRAL009) (05.06.2026)

Country: Albania Source: International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies Please refer to the attached file. EARLY ACTION PROTOCOL Summary of revisions to the operation In the Simplified Early Action Protocol for Heatwave, the Albanian Red Cross (ARC) planned the following key interventions: •Multi-purpose cash assistance for 300 vulnerable households (approx. 825 people) to cover increased costs related to extreme heat (cooling, water, electricity, medicines). •Health and care support through the Green Line, remote monitoring calls, and mobile team visits targeting 1,500 vulnerable individuals, including older persons and people with chronic conditions. •Community heat preparedness interventions (cooling points, water distribution, awareness) reaching up to 15,000 people across Tirana, Berat, and Elbasan. •School-based awareness and education activities targeting 300 students, with indirect outreach to families. Implementation Progress (June–December 2025) •During the reporting period, implementation remained in the initial readiness and coordination phase, with focus on technical preparation rather than operational rollout: •A kick-off and technical workshop (October 2025) brought together ARC, IFRC, Austrian Red Cross, IGEO, ministries, and branch teams. This clarified: roles and responsibilities, trigger mechanism for heatwave activation and coordination and communication procedures. •Branch-level preparedness planning was initiated to ensure response capacity within the 5-day lead time prior to a heatwave. •A Memorandum of Understanding with IGEO / Tirana University was finalized to: develop forecasting products and operationalize trigger monitoring systems Financially, expenditures remained low (approx. CHF 2,183), covering mainly: •coordination •travel •technical meetings •initial support costs •This reflects the early preparatory stage of the sEAP implementation. Implementation Progress (January–June 2026) Most operational and procurement activities were conducted in 2026, including: -The heatwave monitoring product was finalized by IGEO mid May and tested to be ready on 1 June – see figure) -volunteer training on CVA, KoBo, PGI and CEA basics (2 days in May) -beneficiary registration...