Health in Eritrea

Health in Eritrea is generally poor as it remains one of the poorest countries in the world. About one-third of the population lives in extreme poverty, and more than half survives on less than US$1 per day.

Health care and welfare resources generally are believed to be poor, although reliable information about conditions is often difficult to obtain. In 2001, the most recent year for which figures are available, the Eritrean government spent 5.7 percent of gross domestic product on national health accounts. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that in 2004 there were only three physicians per 100,000 people in Eritrea.

The two-year war with Ethiopia, coming on the heels of a 30-year struggle for independence, negatively affected the health sector and the general welfare. The rate of prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS), although low by sub-Saharan African standards, was high enough at 2.7 percent in 2003 to be considered a generalized epidemic. In the decade since 1995, however, impressive results have been achieved in lowering maternal and child mortality rates and in immunizing children against childhood diseases. In 2003 average life expectancy was slightly less than 53 years, according to the WHO.

Malaria control is an important component of the Eritrean preventive health policy. The National Malaria Protection Unit of the Ministry of Health has registered tremendous improvements in reducing malarial mortality by as much as 85% [cite web|url=http://www.shaebia.org/artman/publish/article_3543.html|title=Malaria Mortality Rate Decreases by 85%|accessdate=2006-10-02|date=2005-03-07] . These impressive gains are the result of the Ministry of Health "...running [a] strong and effective national programme..." [cite journal | quotes = no | last = Greenwood | first = Brian | date = 2004-08-19 | title = Between hope and a hard place | journal = Nature | volume = 430 | pages = 926–927 | doi = 10.1038/430926a | url = http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v430/n7002/full/430926a.html | accessdate = 2006-10-02 ]

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