The "Next time we hope it is a girl" campaign was launched and presented in Tirana by UNFPA in partnership with the Mother and Child Hospital Foundation and Fibank. The campaign, part of the 16 days of activism activities, started with an informative photo exhibition, where facts and data were presented to the public on the issue of selective abortions or gender-biased sex selection.

Statistically, in Albania, 109 boys are born for every 100 girls, or in other words, for every 10 boys born, the country loses one girl. Based on this trend, only in one decade about 21 thousand girls are missing in Albania aged from 0 to 19 years old, creating a chain of gender imbalance that affects every sphere and specter of Albanian society.

The Head of UNFPA Albania Office, Dr.Manuela Bello,  in the launching ceremony stated that figures speak of a deviation from the natural ratio, a situation which ranks Albania among the first countries in the world in terms of gender imbalance.

"Albania is ranked among the first places in the world, exactly the eleventh, on sex selection, and this is not a proud situation. The tendency to have a male child has affected families, not only in suburban areas, but also in urban areas, and it has even affected young couples who prefer to have only one child and want it to be a boy”, said, Dr. Bello.

In order to raise awareness and draw attention to the issue, the "Next time we hope it is a girl" campaign aims to influence through sharing information and encourage public debate in families believing that parents will be more responsible when taking decisions in the future.

"In our society, the role of men is unfairly evaluated in comparison to the role of women. We must be aware that preferences for a boy, which might lead to selective abortions,   often based on approaches of inheritance of the family name and wealth, is a violation of human rights” emphasized Dr.  Manuela Bello.

The UNFPA Albania campaign in partnership with the Mother and Child Hospital Foundation and Fibank will go to several cities throughout 2023.