Only 50% of all schools in Eritrea have access to water and about 67% to latrines, according to the Ministry of Education’s current School Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Profile Assessment Report. Until recently, the Adi-Baro Junior and Elementary School was one that was not equipped with a toilet facility for the over 250 students that have enrolled from villages of Adi-Baro and Adi-Mogos and from other villages nearby.  With the financial contribution of the Government of Japan, the Ministry of Health in partnership with UNICEF, contribute to mobilize the community to build latrines for girls and boys in Adibaro Junior School. In addition, almost 40,000 menstrual hygiene booklets were produced and distributed among girls and the community members in Zoba Debub to enhance girls’ knowledge on menstruation and menstrual hygiene management. Adi-Baro, is one of the schools that, with financial contribution of the Government of Japan, scaled up its menstrual hygiene management services for adolescent schoolgirls. Sesen Mihtreteab, a fourteen-year-old adolescent girl, is a 7th Grade student at the Adi-Baro Elementary and Junior School. “Until most recently I faced so much discomfort at school during my periods. I was getting afraid of stain to show because of lack of private place to change my pads. Absenteeism from school for few days was a norm for us as adolescent girl around here.  I know a lot of girls that have discontinued school permanently because of the discomfort we felt during out menstruation. Some girls like me were terrified of what other students at school will say or if they will bad mouth them of their clothes if the stains showed. The boys at school used to say that they will not sit with a girl who is in her periods. This kind of discrimination against us at school became a cause for many of other girls to discontinue school altogether.”     Having a school within a village, that has health, nutrition and menstrual hygiene services, gives girls like Sesen, a better chance to build a future for themself. She is convinced that breaking down barriers such as absence of sanitation and menstruation hygiene facilities is a vital step to ensuring access to education for all. “We did not have toilet facilities at the school before and students were going to do their thing out in the open. It was only recently that we had separate toilets built for the girls and boys within our school by the community as part of bringing their village to Open Defecation Free status. Girls at the school are now able to use the toilets comfortably. The idea of having a separate toilet especially for the girls at the school has encouraged all adolescent girls to use the facility especially during our periods.” Adi-Baro School has gone an extra mile by dedicating a separate medical room for the Menstrual Hygiene Management services that adolescent girls are able to access when experience menstruation while in school. “We also use home-made sanitary towels which we wash and dry them inside the medical room. While doing this we use the sanitary pads provided at the school. This medical room is also equipped with liquid detergent and sanitizer and a disposal for the pads we have used.” Clean water is supplied to the Adi-Baro Junior and Secondary School through an outlet from a nearby water reservoir which is stored in water containers at the school’s entrance, the school’s medical room and outside the latrines constructed separately for the boys and girls of the school. The village of Adi-Baro has been declared open defecation free in February of 2022 through the Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) approach, which was introduced in Eritrea in 2008. Now, Adi-Baro Junior and Secondary School have a separate toilet constructed for the girls and for the boys. Students at the school have water container at the entrance of the latrine that is fitted with a tap water which is used for flushing the toilet and for hand washing which contribute to their health and wellbeing.    “Now we are able to play different kinds of games at the school even when we are on our periods. We play traditional games like ‘Handay and Tempo’ and the common rope-skipping, football, volleyball and so on. To be able to do all of these activities in the company of the boys does give me a sense of pride to be a girl”, said Sesen. Empowering adolescent schoolgirls through their active engagement in school clubs, has been enabling them to gain life skills in personal health, nutrition and menstrual hygiene management.   The Eritrea government has introduced Menstrual Hygiene Programme across all schools with adolescent girls. This programme coupled with the distribution of the brochures and the successful WASH intervention at Sesen’s school has helped improve the way adolescent girls think of themselves in their society. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Government of Japan and all the donors that have contributed their share in the printing and distribution of this brochure to all the adolescent girls at my school and bringing our village and school open defecation free. You should know that all adolescent girls in my school are benefiting from this handbook. It is my wish that you continue the good job.” concluded Sesen.

Asmara, Eritrea - WHO in collaboration with MOH conducted a 2 days’ workshop to scale up IDSR for prompt detection and effective response to monkeypox outbreak and other public health emergencies. A total of 45 participants from the Zobas and the National level participated in the workshop. Each zoba was represented by 5 participants namely: IDSR focal person, physician, health promotion officer, laboratory technician and EPI focal person. This workshop was timely since it happened one week after Eritrea completed the adaptation of the 3rd edition of Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) technical guidelines. The workshop provided an opportunity for participants to have a practical experience on utilization of the IDSR guidelines to promptly detect and respond to a potential monkeypox outbreak and other public health emergencies. Participants were taken through an overview of the 3rd Edition IDSR technical guidelines and application of the guidelines in monkeypox surveillance and response. To enhance readiness for response to monkeypox outbreak and other public health threats, each zoba assessed their preparedness capacities at zoba and sub-zoba levels using a preparedness checklist. The National teams also assessed the preparedness capacities at the National level. Components assessed included capacities for coordination, risk communication and community engagement, epidemiological surveillance, rapid response teams, contact tracing, laboratory diagnosis, infection prevention and control, case management, points of entry, logistics and vaccination. The assessment revealed that the COVID-19 preparedness and response had contributed to enhancing the country preparedness for other public health threats. The monkeypox preparedness therefore leveraged on the COVID-19 preparedness and response capacities. Following the assessment, each Zoba developed action plans to address the identified gaps. Implementation of these workplans will enhance the National and sub-National levels readiness to respond to monkeypox outbreaks and other public health threats. “A coordination team has already been established at the National level and is closely following on the preparedness at all levels. The trained teams are expected to orient all health workers and staff in their respective zobas on monkey pox prevention and control as well as on the preparedness efforts” Said Dr Araia Berhane, Director of the Communicable Disease Control, MOH. This article was originally published on the WHO AFRO Website, by the WHO Eritrea Country Office.  For Additional Information or to Request Interviews, Please contact: Dr. Elizabeth Adhiambo Mgamb, MD Country Preparedness & IHR (CPI) Officer
Email: mgambe@who.int 
Work Phone: +2911114171
Cell Phone: +2917755647
GPN: 34411 Mrs. Selam Berhane Information Assistant
WHO Country Office Eritrea
Work Phone: +291 1 114171/114175
Ext: 34419
Email: berhanes@who.int

Asmara, Eritrea – The United Nations in Eritrea joined Government officials in a high-profile event for the launch of four strategic documents: The National Health Sector Strategic Development Plan 2022-26 (HSSDP III) and its Monitoring and Evaluation Plan, the Essential Health Care Package (2021), and the National Action Plan for Health Security 2022-26 (NAPHS) on 28 April 2022. The launch event was attended by the senior officials from the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, Ministry of Land Water and Environment, Ministry of Finance and National Development, and the Ministry of Local Government among others. In addition, there was a high-level representation from the United Nations family including the UN Resident Coordinator, the WHO Representative, the UNICEF Representative and the UNFPA Representative.  Key Note Address In her keynote address the Minister of Health, Honorable Amina Nurhussien noted that the documents are important costed tools that will guide the country to achieve the Universal Health Coverage (UHC). She added that through the strong Primary Health Care (PHC) base, Eritrea has made remarkable progress in the health sector since 1991 and has achieved the health MDG targets which lay a strong foundation to achieve SDG 3 by 2030. The Honorable Minister informed the participants that the HSSDP III was designed to provide strategic guidance for 5 years and will contribute to the socio-economic growth of the country while the Essential Health Coverage (EHCP) will guide the provision of health services at all levels of the health facilities. She further noted that the NAPHS will be the guiding document for health emergencies.  While thanking the MOH personnel and the partners including WHO for their commitment and contribution to the formulation of these documents, the Minister called on all Government officials and partners to be committed to the implementation of these strategic documents to make a difference. The HSSDP III was developed with technical support from the WHO/AFRO and WHO Country office.  The plan is based on primary health care principles and the strategic objectives specified are in line with the National Health Policy priorities and are aimed at achieving SDG 3 targets and Universal Health Package. The Essential Health Care Package (EHCP) is key for the HSSDP III implementation because it clearly outlines the services that are expected to be delivered at each level of the health system to ensure UHC and SDG 3 achievement. It comprehensively defines the interventions that people of each age cohort need for their health and wellbeing. The National Action Plan for Health Security (NAPHS) is an important document for contributing to the resilience of the health system and is crucial for strengthening the implementation of Internal Health Regulations and Health Security. During the launching ceremony, the Heads of Agency for the UN partners working in the health sector congratulated the Minister of Health for the development of these documents and pledged their support for the implementation. They emphasized that it will be important to ensure that there is an effective monitoring for the implementation of the documents and SDGs at all levels. The WHO Representative supported by the UN Resident Coordinator called for more Government flexibility for the implementation of the launched plans.  

The Government of the State of Eritrea held a multisectoral consensus building workshop to jointly review, provide feedback and validate the draft National Action Plan for health security (NAPHS). The workshop brought together multisectoral stakeholders from the National and Zoba levels. The sectors represented include The Ministry of Health, Ministry of Agriculture and veterinary services, Ministry of Land, Water and Environment, Ministry of Marine Resources, Ministry of Local Government, Office of National Security, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Information, Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, Orotta College of Health Sciences, WHO, FAO and UNICEF. This marked a significant milestone in the NAPHS development timelines that were agreed upon by the core team and stakeholders in November 2022. The plan is a result of several consultative workshops with multisectoral stakeholders. It builds on the gains made in implementation of the previous NAPHS (2017-2021) and on the COVID-19 response. It also focuses on addressing the challenges experienced in implementation of the previous NAPHS. Through implementation of the plan, Eritrea’s capacity to prevent, detect and respond to public health threats will be strengthened in line with the International Health Regulations (IHR) requirements. This will subsequently lead to a reduction in morbidity, mortality, disability, and socio-economic disruptions due to public health threats and contribute to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG 3). Specifically, the plan will contribute to SDG 3.d.1 indicator on strengthening International Health Regulations (IHR) capacity and health emergency preparedness. During the workshop, the team further brainstormed on how to scale up best practices and address the challenges experienced in the implementation of the previous NAPHS. Some of the key recommendations included: Endorsement of the NAPHS by all the relevant sectors and commitment to the implementation. Revitalization of the multisectoral coordination structures at all levels. Printing, distribution, and dissemination of the NAPHS to all stakeholders at all levels including printing a summary in all local languages. Holding annual meetings to review implementation progress and status of IHR core capacities based on the state party annual reports to the World Health Assembly. Development of annual operational plans and incorporation of priority activities in annual work plans for the different health departments and sectors. Forging partnerships to enhance resource mobilization. Successful implementation of the plan will require collective action and accountability from all the sectors and stakeholders. “I applaud Eritrea for the efforts made to strengthen the International Health Regulations (IHR) core capacities to prevent, prepare, detect, and respond to public health threats. The overall IHR core capacity index improved from 49.3% in 2017 to 57% in 2020, with improvements noted across the capacities”. This plan provides an opportunity for collaboration to further strengthen the IHR core capacities to prevent, prepare, promptly detect, and respond to public health threats hence mitigating the impact of these threats. Said Dr. Martins Ovberedjo, WHO Representative for Eritrea.   “The development of this plan was led by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with a broad range of stakeholders including National Ministries, Development Partners and the academia with technical assistance from WHO. The plan is aligned to the 2020 National Health policy and the 2022-2026 health sector strategic development plan (HSSDP III) that are anchored on National and International priorities including the global agenda of the SDGs. Furthermore, the Internal Health Regulations 2005 has been contextualized in this document”. Said Dr. Andeberhan Tesfatsion, Director General of Public Health Department, MOH Eritrea.