Kosovo, like many former communist countries in the region, inherited a health system which was inefficient. Belgrade governments had neglected Kosovo’s public health needs in the Yugoslav era. In the 1990s, the Kosovo Albanian employees were fired from their jobs in the health sector. Under the parallel Kosovo government, health care provision become one of the key priorities, thus the basic needs of the population were met. However, the legacy of poor training and neglected infrastructure still haunts the Kosovo health system.

The post-war reforms spearheaded by the international administration aimed at creating a more responsive health system based on the concept of family medicine, did not achieve the desired effect. Rather, Kosovo’s health system finds itself in a state of chaos. The population is used to the old system of specialized care, and the legal framework does not create incentives for health care providers to improve performance. Effectively, access to health care is dependent on one’s ability to pay.

The social security system in Kosovo is in a very bad shape, as well. The pension funds from the socialist era were blocked by the Belgrade administraton and have yet to be made available to the Kosovo retirees. Many people feel wronged because they can not enjoy the pensions which they worked for most of their life. Under the current welfare system every individual over the age of 65 gets a 'pension.' However, the amount of money they get is small and often it doesn't cover for their food and medical expenses. Yet, given that Kosovo has a young population, the burden of the pensions on the state is relatively small.

Below are some welfare statistics:

Number of people on welfare: 161,049 (figures for 2007).

Number of families on welfare: 37,170 (figures for 2007).

Number of retirees: 131,875 (figures for 2007).

Unemployment: 43.6% (figures for 2007). (ESK).