United Nations Eritrea Newsletter

“Delivering as One for SDGs” January 2018

Message from the United Nations Resident /Humanitarian Coordinator & UNDP Resident Representative

On the occasion of the new year 2018, and on behalf of the United Na-
tions Family in Eritrea, I wish to reiterate our appreciation and express
warm wishes to all our partners.

I joined the UN Family in Eritrea on August 2017 and I met a commit-

ted UN team - both resident and non- resident teams alike - dedicated
in their support to the Government and people of Eritrea.

The UN team is moving into 2018 on a firm foundation. Our Strategic

Partnership Cooperation Framework 2017 – 2021 which spells out the
agreed areas of UN support to Government of the State of Eritrea’s de-
velopment priorities has been implemented for a year, our partnership
with the Government broader and deeper than ever before. Many
thanks to my predecessor Ms. Christine Umutoni, who in her 5 years in
Ms. . Susan Namondo Ngongi Humanitarian
Coordinator & UNDP Resident Representative
Eritrea played a key role in building a relationship of trust with the
Government of the State of Eritrea and all our partners.

Challenges of course remain – the broader geopolitical constraints that impact our development work in
Eritrea; operational challenges around UN processes and ways of work and how best as a team we can sup-
port Government’s own processes and ways of work guided by the concept of self reliance; and of course,
financial resource constraints to invest in the areas of priority outlined in our SPCF.

We look forward to 2018 with enthusiasm. We look to build on past achievements, find more effective
ways to deal with our challenges and in the spirit of the Secretary General’s reform agenda, we especially
look forward to our ever greater and deeper collective action across the UN system and its partners to sup-
port the implementation of the 2030 Agenda in Eritrea.

Susan Namondo Ngongi

United Nations Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator &
UNDP Resident Representative

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 World AIDS Day 2017 was observed at a national
level in Massawa on 1 December 2017

World AIDS Day 2017 was observed at a national level in Massawa on 1 December 2017 under the
theme: “Right to Health”. Speaking at the event in which government Ministers, senior Government and
PFDJ officials, heads of UN institutions in Eritrea, as well as other invited guests took part, UNAIDS
country manager in Eritrea Ms Senait Tesfamiceal delivered the message of the UNAIDS Executive Di-
rector, Michele Sidebe. The message calls for a collective action to realize the right to health as a driving
force for all health issue including HIV/AIDS and living no one behind. Ms Senait concluded her speech
by congratulating the government and people of Eritrea for the success registered so far in the Eritrea HIV
response and expressed the commitment of UNAIDS to support Eritrea to reach the 2030 goal.

UNAIDS Country Manager in Eritrea Ms Senait Dr Andeberhan Tesfasion DG of Public Health at

Tesfamiceal ©UNEritrea Yohanes Tesfay Ministry of Health ©WHO

The D.G. of Public Health in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Andeberhan Tesfatsion indicated that owing to
the coordinated effort exerted to combat the prevalence of the disease, the number of HIV/AIDS infections
has decreased to less than 1% nationwide, and to 0.28% that of pregnant women and that in the last 12
years the prevalence of the disease has decreased by 78%.
Pointing out that about nine thousand nationals living with HIV/AIDS are receiving antiretroviral therapy
(ART), Dr. Andeberhan indicated that the incidence of HIV/AIDS infection is on the increase in women in
general and that of sex workers in particular and called for integrated effort of concerned institutions with
a view to meet the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
The head of HIV/AIDS and STDs Control in the
Northern Red Sea region branch, Mr. Robel Aron
on his part, pointed out that regular counselling
and check-ups are undertaken in all health centers
of the region and that HIV/AIDS infection that
was 3.4% in 2005 has decreased to 0.39% at re-
gional level.
Commending the endeavors being exerted by the
people and government of Eritrea in combating
Cycling competition ©UNEritrea Yohanes Tesfay
HIV/AIDS, and underlining the difficulty of mini-
mizing the prevalence rate of the disease to its
lowest level, the representative of WHO in Eritrea, Dr. Josephine Namboze expressed her strong convic-
tion that Eritrea will meet the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals ahead of time.
World AIDS Day is commemorated for the 30th time worldwide and for the 24th time here in Eritrea by
the Ministry of health with collaboration with UN Agencies in Eritrea (UNAIDS, WHO and UNFPA) .
The day was marked with various activities including a cycling competition of both girls and boys from
the Northern Red Sea Region, organized by the Cycling federation.
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 “Leave No One Behind: Ending Violence against Women and Girls”
Celebrations to mark International Day for the Elimination of Violence against
Women and Girls (16 Days of Activism) ended with the successful Closing Cere-
mony taking place on 12th of December in Umkulu Refugee Camp, Massawa.

In keeping with the 2017 theme “Leave No One Behind: Ending Violence against Women and Girls” the UNHCR
team, with the support of the UNHCR Regional Support Hub (RSH) in Nairobi, in collaboration with the Office of
Refugee Affairs (ORA) and the women refugee community, organized different activities involving the community
in order to enhance awareness of SGBV and its various themes as well as pertinent issues affecting the Somali Refu-
gee Community.
The opening ceremony was celebrated on the 30th of November in a colorful manner and kicked off the start of the
16 days campaign in Umkulu refugee camp.

Lt. Col. Rezene Tecle, Head of ORA and UNHCR Representative, Mr. Cleophas Mubangizi, delivering speeches during the Closure
Ceremony in Umkulu refugee camp.

Since this year’s campaign goal is to continue to build awareness and advocate for an end to all forms of gender-
based violence against women and girls and the most marginalized groups, including refugees, migrants, minorities,
and populations affected by conflict and natural disasters, amongst others; this year celebration involved in particular
the Women Association and youth Association who engaged to organize during the 16 days an inclusive campaign
and an impressive closure ceremony.
Leading group within the camp gave speeches during the closure ceremony, one of whom was the Somali Youth As-
sociation Head who delivered a powerful message laying bare the issue of clan distinction in the camp, and how in
2018 the youth will work hard to eradicate this problem and unify the Somali community in the camp on a basis of
respect and consideration of the other.
The event was honored by the presence of the Lt. Col. Rezene Tecle, Head of ORA and UNHCR Representative, Mr.
Cleophas Mubangizi, who summarized the global significance of the event and thanked the community of their par-
ticipation throughout the 16 Days of Activism, and underlined the position of the GoSE on SGBV. During the 16
days of activism, the women association themselves conducted awareness raising session to the community which
was the core idea of establishing the women development group.
The speeches were followed by a song prepared by refugees’ children. Young people from the camp have participat-
ed with much willingness to prepare dramas, songs and traditional dances.
Moreover UNHCR Eritrea commemorated this day by awarding Certificates of Recognition to 45 women and girls
who attended a six months tailoring course.
Overall, the campaign was a success and helped move towards UNHCR’s goal of educating people on inhumane
practices against girls and women.

UNHCR, in collaboration with ORA, will continue to pursue its mandate to create secure, protected environ-
ments for refugees and to mitigate the risk of sexual violence against all.

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 Eritrea and WFP cooperate to deliver food aid to
South Sudan

Trucks in Departing to South Sudan. ©WFP Eritrea Massawa port ©WFP Eritrea

The Government of the State of Eritrea and the World Food Programme (WFP) were in discussions to use
the port of Eritrea for food aid shipments to South Sudan following a successful pilot shipment in June
2016.
A relatively small pilot shipment of 1,100 metric tons of sorghum was offloaded in the port of Massawa,
Eritrea, and delivered to Kosti, Sudan. The shipment is the first in a decade to cross through the Eritrean
port.
The humanitarian situation in South Sudan is dire, with more than 40 percent of the population facing se-
vere food insecurity.
Years of conflict and an economic crisis, combined with a lack of rainfall caused by the climatic event El
Nino, mean that harvests and food availability are at historic lows. Fighting has killed tens of thousands of
South Sudanese and forced more than 2 million to flee their homes, and much of the country is not acces-
sible by any network of roads.

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 Eritrea students receive 114 bicycles from the Turkish
Embassy in Asmara

The Turkish Embassy in Asmara distributed 114 bicycles to high school students through the youth skills and en-
terprise development project implemented by the National Union of Eritrean Youth and Students (NUEYS). Ex-
cited students from various schools, parents, guardians and officials from the Government and the UN convened
at the NUEYS Zoba Maekel hall in Asmara on 24th Novem-
ber 2017 for the handover ceremony. The event was orga-
nized by NUEYs in collaboration with UNDP.
During the event, Ms. Susan N. Ngongi, UN Resident Coor-
dinator and UNDP Resident Representative, recognized ef-
forts of the Government of the State of Eritrea in ensuring
access to education and skills development for the young
people. She advocated for gender balance and called for spe-
cial focus on educating young girls and ensuring employ-
ment opportunities for them. She acknowledged that the mo-
bilization and distribution of bicycles to the youth and stu-
dents is a great initiative, which can be strengthened through
bicycle-related skills development training.
While delivering his remarks, Turkish Ambassador to Eri-
trea, H.E. Aykut Kumbaroglu acknowledged the support of
the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA)
who funded the initiative. He said that there is proof that at-
tendance and level of success in education improved in cases
where there was reliable mode of transportation to and from
school. “This initiative provides a good opportunity for stu-
dents to invest more time in their education.” He added.

The 114 bicycles were a third consignment to be handed over to Eritrea students, following 708 Qhubeka bicycles
handed over in February this year and 220 bicycles from World Bicycle Relief in October 2015. Reem Berhane,
UNDP Resident Representative, Ms. Susan N. Ngongi handing over a bicycle to a
one of the students that received a bicycle said that she will
student. Photo: ©UNDPEritrea/Elizabeth Mwaniki have more time for studies since her new bicycle will ena-
ble her to save on time spent travelling to and from school.
On behalf of the parents, Mr. Michael Gebru thanked the
partners and said that the bicycles were a positive
contribution to the education of their children.
Globally, Eritrea is known for professional cycling.
In fact, Eritrea’s cyclists are among the best in Af-
rica and have dominate the continent’s champion-
ships in recent years. It is anticipated that the bicy-
cles may also help the students explore their poten-
tial in cycling careers. As Ms. Ngongi said,
“maybe some of the students who receive the bicy-
cles will follow in the sporting footsteps of the
great cycling athletes.”
NUEYS partners with UNDP through the Youth
employment and skills development project. The
project targets vulnerable youth and empowers
them with skills for work, while at the same time
addressing migration issues. Initiatives for youth
empowerment have previously been supported by
the Government of Japan and are currently sup-
ported by the Governments of Norway and Switzer- Turkish Ambassador to Eritrea, H.E Aykut Kumbaroglu handing over a bicycle to one of the
students. Photo: ©UNDPEritrea/Elizabeth Mwaniki
land.

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 Eritrea Launched the Health Sector Strategic
Development Plan II (HSSDP - II) 2017-2021

The Launching of the Second Health Sector Strategic Development Plan (HSSDP - II) was held on 2nd of June,
2017 at Orotta National Referral Hospital Conference Hall. The development of the HSSDP - II for Eritrea for the
period 2017-2021 was led by the Ministry of Health, with the participation of other Government Sectors, Partners
and relevant stakeholders. In it’s formulation, recommendations from the mid-term review previously conducted on
key achievements and challenges during the implementation of the HSSDP - I and health sector situation analysis
were used.

H.E. Minister of Health, Ms. Amina Nurhussien making remarks . A section of participants of the launching. ©WHO Eritrea

The main objective of the HSSDP II is to provide the medium term strategic directions for the health sector for the
attainment of the Eritrean health aspirations, appropriate contribution to the national development and global health
agenda. In that spirit, the launching ceremony brought together different
stakeholders namely: MOH officials and members of the steering com-
mittee, UN Agencies, Civil Society Organizations, Orotta School of
Medicine, line ministries, Zonal Medical Officers, PHARMECOR, Col-
lege of Health Science, National Statistics Office, National Blood Trans-
fusion Center, National and Zonal Referral Hospitals, who committed to
maintaining their involvement as demonstrated during the development
process of the HSSDP II during implementation.

The HSSDPII was officially launched by Her Excellency Ms. Amina

Nurhusein , Minister of Health. She congratulated those who have
worked tirelessly to produce the Health Sector Strategic Development
Plan II and thanked WHO for the commitment shown and support pro-
vided. Furthermore, she stressed the fact that this HSSDP included the
new strategic vision of Universal Health Coverage, addressing the unfin-
ished targets of the MDGs as well as the new Sustainable Development
WHO Representative to Eritrea, Dr. Josephine Namboze Goals (SDGs) targets. She underlined the concept of “All for Health,
making remarks. Health for All and hence, Health in All Policies.”
The WHO Representative to Eritrea, Dr. Josephine Namboze congratulat-
ed the Ministry of Health for taking the lead and acknowledged partners involvement in the process.
She specially thanked Her excellency Hon. Minister of Health Ms. Amina Nurhusein for creating an enabling envi-
ronment and establishing a steering committee and various technical working groups who have worked tirelessly
towards fulfilling the expectations. She emphasized that the launching event marked not only the official pro-
nouncement of the document, but also calls and opens the door to start the journey for joint implementation, moni-
toring and evaluation.
The implementation of HSSDP - II has started with individual Zoba operational planning which will be followed
through in the next few months.
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 Micro-propagation of Date palm cultivars
using Tissue Culture techniques

Though date palm farming is not new to Eritrea with success stories from Assab, Shieb and Other areas; the
project has added a new gear to the farming with two macro objectives: To strength the Tissue Culture labora-
tory at NARI and to capacitate date palm farmers and other value chain actors handling and raising improved
date palm planting materials with superior skills.

What this project has achieved is establish a strong foundation for a long term investment and commitment
from the former date farmers, new farmers, house hold farmers and the Ministry of Agriculture.
An iconic date palm farmer: Mr. Abdala from Shieb has been able to expand his horizon for a large scale Date
palm farming with his newly acquired offshoots that has been grown in the tissue culture laboratory.
Livestock Crop Corporation field in Gahtelay has massively invested in this area too shown with support with
technology-drip irrigation for the newly set date palm farm area of 3 Hectares with 300 Date Palm in a good
condition.

A total of 2000 date palm plantlets were planted in the benefit of 112 farmers in Northern & Southern Red Sea
Regions which is expected to see a return of upwards to 20KG, to 300KG from a single Date Palm.
What made this project even strong in implementation is the fact that local staff have been trained to be able
to cultivate by their own for the future inevitable demands for offshoot and for technical support: what a great
knowledge transfer and capacity building- “they were not given fish (“Date Palm”) rather the know-how of
fishing (“cultivating new Date Palm in the laboratory”).

The impact can be summarized by the powerful word of commitment stated in the Terminal Workshop:
“This-Terminal workshop is not the end of the project on Date palm for Eritrea, we will make history ”.

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 UNFPA Supporting Adolescent girls
Education in Eritrea

UNFPA has been supporting girls’ education for the last three years, since 2015. This is in partnership with
the National Union of Eritrean youth and Students (NUEYS) as an implementing agency to facilitate the
programme. This is one among many other adolescent and youth related activities being funded by UN-
FPA.
The girls under this programme of academic support are all adolescent of 11 and 14 years old attending be-
tween grades Six and Eight.

The beneficiary girls are 200 in total and

are all from eight junior schools of the four
sub zobas in zoba Ma’eke, coming from
over fifteen villages. Selection of these
beneficiaries has taken in to account, low
academic performance, social and econom-
ic problems etc. The selection was conduct-
ed in collaboration by the NUEYS, the
Ministry of Education, and sub zonal ad-
ministration and their respective schools.
The support being provided to the benefi-
ciaries is mainly tutorial classes on Math
and English language; lessons on sexual
and reproductive health (SRH); sexually
transited infections (STI) including HIV;
menstrual hygiene management; and harmful practices such as FGM/C. Other benefits include financial
incentive, school material including stationaries, school bags as well as sanitary materials (soaps, sanitary
pads etc.).
The main purpose of the programme is to use the beneficiary girls as advocators against harmful practices
and sexual reproductive health by being peer educators in their villages, communities, and in schools.
Since it started, the support has shown a positive impact on the girls. They have all improved their academ-
ic performance, broadened their knowledge on SRH and harmful practices. Moreover, they are positively
influencing their peers in school and villages as well as the community in general on SRH and harmful
practices. Some of them have informed their school that an underage marriage has been arranged for one of
their fellow students and the school intervened in collaboration with others.
During evaluation visits, all villages (communities) where the beneficiaries come from, and particularly the
parents of the beneficiaries expressed their satisfaction of the programme and the benefits the students are
getting. As a result the villages including other neighboring ones are requesting for expansion of the pro-
gramme in number of beneficiaries and subjects coverage. In this regard, the NUEYS is also requesting for
more coverage of the programme with in zoba Ma’ekel and other zobas.
So far UNFPA has funded close to USD 170,000 for this successful programme and looks forward for its
expansion depending on the availability of budget.

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 Preserving Islamic Written Heritage in
Eritrea

Within the UNESCO framework of enabling universal access

Photo Credit: Philippe Roisse
and preservation of information and knowledge, a UNESCO
mission was undertaken in November 2017 to support the Eritre-
an Research and Documentation Center (ERDC) in preserving
Islamic written heritage.
The purpose of the mission was to explore possibilities of de-
signing an ad-hoc full programme for the preservation and pro-
motion of the Islamic manuscripts of Eritrea. UNESCO identi-
fied challenges and opportunities concerning the collections and
recommendations were formulated to support the institution in
improving its facilities and activities geared towards the preser-
vation of manuscripts. It is also suggested that capacity-building
initiatives are undertaken in restoration, binding, microfilming,
digitizing, or cataloguing of archives.
Urgent interventions are required to preserve the unique reposito-
ries in Eritrea as it represents the oldest heritage archives in the
country. In addition to the collections available at the Eritrean
Research and Documentation Center, other important collections
include the collection of Waqf of Mitsiwa’e, the Abd al-Malik
Ahmad Saleh family collection at Ghinda, and the Sheikh Mu-
hammad Nasser Family collection at Adi Quala. Some of the
works written in Arabic, especially those from the time of the so-
called Italian Eritrea period (1890-1947) are written on good
quality paper with watermarks and deserves attention. The main
themes of these manuscripts are devotional works and copies of
the Qur’an and the value of the works lies in keeping record of
the heritage of a specific segment of the population in Eritrea, in
a particular time in history, as a historical testimony for the

The mission was a milestone in discussing the importance of documentary heritage with the European Un-
ion to Eritrea, local stakeholders and librarians. During the mission the importance of recognizing the
unique documentary heritage of Eritrea was stressed through the UNESCO Memory of the World pro-
gramme. This UNESCO programme aims to facilitate the preservation of the world’s documentary herit-
age, to assist to universal access to documentary heritage and to increase awareness worldwide of the ex-
istence and significance of documentary heritage.

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 Other UN activities

Gender Equity and Women’s empowerment Workshop

In the context of the Joint Program on Gender Eq-

uity and Women’s empowerment between the
GoSE and the United Nations, a workshop for
public servants on gender equality was conducted
with the objectives of strengthening knowledge on
International frameworks linked to gender equali-
ty. The participants included ministry officials,
gender focal points and the National Union of Eri-
trean Women’s (NUEW) staff. The workshop ad-
dressed the Convention on the Elimination of all
forms of Discrimination Against Women
(CEDAW) principles and obligations, Gender
Based Violence concepts and the United Nations
Security Council Resolu-
Gender Equality workshop © UNEritrea Yohanes Tesfay

A training for 30 young Eritrean diplomats was held in Asmara

A training for 30 young Eritrean diplomats was held in Asmara from 30 October to 10 November 2017.
The first of its kind, this initiative was the product of close collaboration between the Eritrean Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, the UN Department of Political Affairs in New York, and the Office of the UN Resi-
dent Coordinator in Eritrea. The intensive, two-week course had two key objectives: the first was to en-
hance the understanding of the UN as an Organization and in particular its work in the area of peace and
security. The second was to reinforce skills with regard to situation analysis as well as the theory and
practice of negotiation and mediation in multilateral contexts.
The training was highly interactive and participatory in design, with simulations and group exercises
that required participants to debate contentious international policy issues, engage in multilateral negoti-
ations on the text of a General Assembly resolution, and mediate an end to a protracted conflict in a fic-
tional setting. The training team was impressed by the sharp analysis, commitment, and enthusiasm
demonstrated by the participants throughout the two weeks.

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 Other UN activities

A capacity building exercise for 70 Judges, prosecutors, Police and Correction

Officers was conducted in Asmara

In close collaboration with the Office of the Hight Commission for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the
GoSE , a capacity building workshop on strengthening the administration of justice was conducted in
Asmara from 23 -25 October 2017. The objective of the workshop was to reinforce the capacity of
judges, prosecutors, lawyers, police and prison officials, improve their knowledge of international and
regional human rights norms and standards, and strengthen their implementation at the domestic level.

Guests at the opening ceremony. Photo: Group work presentation at the workshop. Photo:
©UNDPEritrea/Elizabeth Mwaniki

The workshop focused on the human rights aspects of administration of justice and the independence of
the judiciary. This was anchored in key international and regional standards and jurisprudence, as well
as the work of international and regional mechanisms that address human rights concerns in the field of
administration of justice; arrest, pre-trial detention and administrative detention; treatment of detainees
and prisoners; investigation, fair trial and appeal; protection of persons deprived of liberty; the domestic
application of international and regional human rights standards; and the rights of persons in situations
of vulnerability. Throughout the workshop, the participants considered relevant recommendations by
international human rights mechanisms, including the Universal Periodic Review.

Disclaimer: This Newsletter is a sample of a small portion of UN Activities in Eritrea and does not represent all UN work in the country

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