October 26, 2013
Eritrean Ministry of Health Registering Success Stories
Health Care: On the road to health for all policy, the government of Eritrea in the past couple of decades has registered a remarkable success in the improvement of the people’s health status. In just few independence years the government of Eritrea has made an intensive effort in providing quality, and accessible health care system and made a commendable achievement on the prevention of communicable diseases including malaria, HIV/ Aids and most importantly the government tirelessly worked on the immunization of children against the most deadly childhood diseases.
For that reason, Eritrea has registered a dramatic progress in the reduction of malaria morbidity and mortality rate. This overall reduction in malaria could be turn encouraged users. According to studies by the Ministry of Health, in 2007, some 78 percent of families living in malaria endemic regions used insecticide treated bed nets. However, it is also said that community agents treat about 80 percent of malaria cases in Eritrea. Consequently, since ever since1999 malaria morbidity and mortality has dropped by more than 80 percent.
Similarly, HIV/AIDS has been one of the dangers, threatening nations by killing the youths, their important assets for their progress and development. Since its emergence as a haunting disease in the world, however, its prevalence among the poor world is posing a serious threat on the developing world. Most disappointingly, the disease is haunting the Sub-Sahara Africa nations. According to studies, globally, the infection has been serious that it stretched tens of folds from the record of 1990s, compared with that of 2008s. For instance, in the past few years some 33.4 million people have been reported HIV positive, out of which, 22.3% are said to have been from below the Sub-Saharan region. Not withstand with the aforementioned facts, 2.7 Million newly affected people were reported in 2008, and around 2 million died in the same year.
Also in Eritrea, the disease is one of the epidemic ones the government is struggling to halt its spread. The disease showed a steady progress since it was identified for the first time in the country in Asab, 1988. The government of Eritrea, understanding this disease may pose a heavy problem in the development of the young nation, responded hurriedly. Based on four sentinel surveys; the Eritrean national AIDS and TB Control Division has found out that the HIV/AIDS prevalence in the country is low. For instance, according to the year 2010 estimates of the Ministry of Health, trends in HIV/AIDS cases in the country have stepped down to less than one percent, which is a good signal of the government’s dedication in safeguarding the people’s health status.
Another key success of the Ministry of Health is the reduction of maternal and prenatal deaths which includes the provision of quality antenatal care and skilled assistance during delivery; post partum home visits; care of the new born; expansion and equitable distribution and emergency neonatal and obstetric care services; provision of post abortion care; and so on and so forth. In this case the study on the maternal mortality ratio of the years 1990—2010 reveals that the ratio has declined from 998 per 100,000 live births in 1995 to almost 486 at the present.
For that reason taking into account of the estimates Eritrea’s maternal mortality from 1990—2008, the World Health Organization (WHO) has listed the country as one of the few countries in the continent of Africa that are on their way registering the success needed by MDG5 because with an annual average reduction rate of 6.6 percent, the country is recorded seventh with 69 percent reduction in maternal mortality ratio, next Estonia (76%) and Equatorial Guinea (73). However, the UN estimates of Eritrea’s maternal mortality ratio is even far less than what has been reported by the national data, 246 per 100,000 live births (UN), and that is why the UN regarded Eritrea as one of the three African countries that are on the path to reach the MDG5 by the year 2015.
Moreover, based on reports of the Ministry of Health, Eritrea has also reduced child mortality from 81per 1,000 in 1991 to 42 per 1,000 live births in 2010. Again under the age of five, mortality has reduced from 148 per 1,000 live births in time of the country’s independence to 63 per 1,000 live births this year. This is quite surprising to hear such a success from a young nation, struggling hard on the road to development and progress without any external assistance.
Hence , the United Nations in 2008 identified some 69 countries which should have dealt with the reduction of maternal mortality, child mortality, and neonatal, out of which 16 countries including Eritrea registered the track to success. The success for the young nation of Eritrea happened as the government, since independence, made ready quality health care that includes health facilities, schools, and a comprehensive package of low-cost, high—impact intervention to improve child health and quality survival.
The breakthrough of the country’s great progress on the child mortality, therefore, happened as a result of a combination of methods. Normally, it was the responsibility of the Ministry of Health to immunize and care of children. Studies have revealed that the Ministry of Health immunized and reached 99 percent of children all across the country. And the other successful intervention is the introduction of large scale immunization, and the integrated management of childhood illness, both of which added protect children through vaccination. According to reports of the Ministry of Health, immunization of children all over the country showed an increase from 10% during the day of liberation to 100percen at present. So far Eritrea has used expanded program on immunization as the most cost-effective intervention against measles, poliomyelitis, diphtheria, neonatal tetanus, whooping cough, tuberculosis, and since 2002, hepatitis against hepatitis B, and a vaccine against hemophilus influenza type b, (Hib) was introduced in 2008. Moreover, the ministry is on the way to introduce pneumococcus, and rota virus vaccinations.
Based on studies by the Ministry of Health, without immunization, two percent of children would have died from whooping cough, three percent from measles; one percent from tetanus and point five percent would have been crippled from polio; and 20 percent of children would have missed their lives from neonatal tetanus. However, with an intensive effort made by the government, Eritrea is now Polio free country. Measles has been the major cause of children’s mortality in the world making the death of millions of children between the ages of five and 14. As to the case of Eritrea, there used to be high death rate of measles before independence, took the lives of thousands of children. Whereas, after independence, the number of immunized children steadily increased, bringing down the presence of the disease to almost zero at the moment, to the level where Eritrea received an award, in Hanoi, Vietnam in 2008. Measles, therefore, has been effectively controlled. It poses no more threat. Thanks to the Ministry of Health of Eritrea and its counterparts
