Geographical Locations - Eritrea

• (Statistical) Number of Inhabitants per Doctor: 28,000
• CIA World Factbook : Eritrea

Organisations and Networks

UN and Multinational

• WHO
  - WHO Country Profile - Eritrea
  - WHO - Tobacco Control: Country Profile - Eritrea
  - WHO - Environmental Burden of Disease: Country Profile – Eritrea
  - WHO - Malaria Country Profile - Eritrea
• WHO - Regional Office AFRO in Brazzaville, Congo
• UNAIDS Eritrea Country Situation Analysis
• UNDP in Eritrea
• UNHCR - Eritrea
• UNICEF - At a glance : Eritrea
• United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea

Government

• Shabait.com
  This site is provided by the Eritrean Ministry of Information. It contains the latest news from Eritrea as well as information about the history, culture and development of the country.

Non-Government

• Fred Hollows Foundation: Where we work - Eritrea
  The Fred Hollows Foundation is a not-for-profit, community-based, non-government development aid organisation based in Australia. In 1993 the Fred Hollows Foundation became involved in assisting Eritrea, through the training of an eye doctor and several paramedic cataract surgeons. In 1994 the Fred Hollows IOL Laboratory was opened in Asmara with the aim of producing low-cost intraocular lenses for use in cataract surgery.
• SUKE - Schweizerisches Unterstützungskomitee für Eritrea
  SUKE, the Swiss Support Committee for Eritrea, has operated since 1977. During the border conflict with Ethiopia between 1998 and 2000, the committee provided a variety of assistance to refugees and has since played a coordinating role between Swiss welfare organisations engaged in Eritrea and authorities in the country.
• USAID: Eritrea
  This site outlines USAID's strategy to foster regional stability, combat terrorism, promote a democratic system of governance where human rights and religious freedom are respected, provide humanitarian relief, and encourage economic development in Eritrea.

Academic Institutions

National Policy and Related Documents

• Eritrean experience in Scaling-up Malaria Prevention and Control
  "Malaria is endemic, highly seasonal, focal and unstable in Eritrea. The commonest malaria parasite in Eritrea is Plasmodium falciparum, which accounts for more than 84% of all cases. Plasmodium vivax represents 16% of the malaria positive smears. The main vector involved in transmission of malaria is Anopheles arabiensis. There are two main transmission seasons from September to November in the central, southern and western lowlands and from January to March in the coastal plains. Two thirds of the population (2.4 million) resides in malaria endemic areas. The most vulnerable groups for malaria transmission are children under 5 years, pregnant women and non-immune individuals who migrate from the highlands to the endemic areas. The goal of the malaria control program in Eritrea is to reduce morbidity and mortality due to malaria to such low levels that malaria will no longer be a public health problem. To achieve this goal , Eritrea adopted a package of the RBM strategy in 1999 in which the following comprehensive and integrated interventions are deployed: Case management; Integrated vector management; Epidemic prevention; Capacity building; Operational research; Health promotion; Supervision monitoring & evaluation; and Promotion of partnership. As a result of implementing this comprehensive package of interventions in an integrated programme and covering a wide geographical area, Eritrea has scaled up malaria control interventions for impact. This report summarises the main activities and results by intervention, as well as the challenges faced and lessons learned." [National Malaria Control Program, Ministry of Health, State of Eritrea]
• National Environmental Health Policy

Reports, Guidelines, and Projects

• Combating Malaria in Eritrea
  "About two-thirds of Eritrea’s population of 3.5 million people lives in malaria endemic or epidemic-prone areas where the disease is seasonal, highly focal, and unstable. In 1997 and 1998, Eritrea experienced a series of malaria epidemics that produced more than 424,000 cases, with over 500 inpatient malaria deaths in 1998 alone. Following these severe outbreaks, Eritrea established a comprehensive National Malaria Control Program (NMCP) with support from the World Health Organization, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the World Bank. Over the next several years, the NMCP introduced a new fi rst-line antimalarial drug and implemented an integrated vector control program using insecticide-treated nets (ITNs), indoor spraying in selected areas, and other interventions. From 1999 to 2003, Eritrea succeeded in halving the malaria mortality rate among children under 5, reducing the number of malaria fatalities to one of the lowest levels in Africa." [RTI International, 2005]
• Eritrea: Challenges and Crises of a New State
  This report by Assefaw Bariagaber was commissioned by the UNHCR. It provides an assessment of the current developments in human rights practices in Eritrea. A special attention is paid to the issue of citizenship, statelessness and property rights. The study concludes by offering suggestions on key issues and trends.
• Healthnet Eritrea
  Healthnet Eritrea is located at the Ministry of Health in Asmara. It comprises a network of computers providing health information, access to medical publications, e-mail and discussion lists to health practitioners in Eritrea.
• History and Trends of Nursing in Eritrea
  "In 1993, (two years after independence), the school of nursing started to train ex- combatants who had been working in the field as bare foot doctors during the armed struggle for independence. Here, the previous curriculum of the former training of the upgrading health assistants was revised to fit to the policy of the Ministry of Health of Eritrea. There were deficits in the above-mentioned curriculum, related to the concept of primary health care both in the description of the course outline and the expected outcome. Other reasons for revising the curriculum was that there were too many references to Ethiopia and the old regime. There were also Marxists- Leninist courses and others with no relevance to nursing education. Major changes were made however, to augment clinical practice in the community, preferably in the areas with community health problems." [Erina, July 2006]
• Malaria Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors in Eritrea
  A parasitological cross-sectional survey was undertaken from September 2000 through February 2001 to estimate the prevalence of malaria parasitemia in Eritrea. A total of 12,937 individuals from 176 villages were screened for both Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax parasite species using the OptiMal Rapid Diagnostic Test. Malaria prevalence was generally low but highly focal and variable with the proportion of parasitemia at 2.2% (range: 0.4% to 6.5%). Despite no significant differences in age or sex-specific prevalence rates, 7% of households accounted for the positive cases and 90% of these were P. falciparum. Multivariate regression analyses revealed that mud walls were positively associated with malaria infection (OR [odds ratio] = 1.6 [95% CI: 1.2, 2.2], P < 0.008). For countries with low and seasonal malaria transmission, such information can help programs design improved strategic interventions. [author abstract] [American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 72(6), 2005, pp. 682–687]
• Maternal psychosocial well-being in Eritrea: application of participatory methods and tools of investigation and analysis in complex emergency situations
  The objective of this study published in the Bulletin of the World Health Organisation 81: 5, 2003 was to establish the context in which maternal psychosocial well-being is understood in war-affected settings in Eritrea. It concludes that methodological advances in health research and the dearth of data on maternal psychosocial well-being in complex emergency settings call for scholars and practitioners to collaborate in creative searches for sound evidence on which to base maternity, mental health and social care policy and practice. Participatory methods facilitate the meaningful engagement of key stakeholders and enhance data quality, reliability and usability.
• Prolonged displacement may compromise resilience in Eritrean mothers
  Objective: to assess the impact of prolonged displacement on the resilience of Eritrean mothers. Methods: an adapted SOC scale (short form) was administered. Complementary qualitative data were gathered from study participants’ spontaneous reactions to and commentaries on the SOC scale. Results: Displaced women’s SOC scores were significantly less than those of the non-displaced: Mean = 54.84; SD = 6.48 in internally displaced person (IDP) camps, compared to non-displaced urban and rural/pastoralist: Mean = 48. 94, SD = 11.99; t = 3.831, p < .001. Post hoc tests revealed that the main difference is between IDP camp dwellers and urban (non-displaced). Rural but traditionally mobile (pastoralist or transhumant) communities scored more or less the same as the urban non-displaced – i.e., significantly higher than those in IDP camps (p < 0.05). Analysis of variance confirmed that gender is critical: displacement has significantly negative effects on women compared to men: RR = .262, p < .001. SOC scores of urban and pastoralist/transhumant groups were similar, while women in IDP camps were lower scoring – RR = .268, p < .001. Conclusions: The implications of these findings for health policy are critical. It is incumbent on the international health institutions including the World Health Organization and regional as well as local players to address the plight of internally displaced women, their families and communities in Eritrea and other places of dire conditions such as, for example Darfur in the Sudan. [author abstract] [African Health Sciences 2005; 5(4): 310 - 314]
• Teenage childbearing and child health in Eritrea
  Although a decline is evident , teenage childbearing in Eritrea is still high. "The high rate of teenage childbearing is related to adverse health risks for the mother and child. This Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research Working Paper concludes that the significant effect of age of mother demonstrates that the health impact of teenage childbearing is not only due to sociodemographic factors that affect the teenager at different levels – at the community, household and individual levels – but also due to biological factors. Thus, strategies designed to reduce the health effects of teenage childbearing should address both maternal age and behavioral factors...."
• UNGASS Report 2008
  "Like in other developing countries, HIV/AIDS has become a major threat for Eritrea’s socio-economic development as it affects its major productive labor force. The first AIDS case was reported in 1988. At present, the estimated number of people living with HIV is in the range of 70,000-100,000. According to the nationwide ANC sentinel surveillance conducted in 2005, the prevalence of HIV in pregnant women was 2.38%. There were variations between regions/zones, age groups and occupations. In 2006, special surveys were also conducted on the most-at-risk populations, namely CSWs in Asmara, Massawa and long distance truck drivers nationwide. The HIV prevalence rates were 8.08%, 14.67% and 7%, respectively. Another study that was conducted in TB patients in Asmara showed HIV prevalence of 34.33% indicating that co-infection rate was high. In comparison to the 2.38% prevalence in the general population HIV prevalence in the most at risk populations is very high and needs extensive targeted intervention." [UNAIDS and The State of Eritrea, Ministry of Health, January 2008]

Educational Resources

• CDC Travellers Advice- East Africa
• Dehai Eritrea News Archive
  Dehai is the Eritrean Community Online Network, a virtual family of Eritreans and friends of Eritrea around the globe.
• Landmine Injuries in Eritrea
  This report by Kurt Hanevik examines the impact of landmine injuries in Eritrea.