Eritrea

The Eritrean Ministry of Health and USAID/Eritrea work in a strong, positive partnership. This relationship consists of continued assistance and support in building and strengthening program capacities in maternal and child health, reproductive health, and related primary healthcare systems. The commitment of the Ministry of Health to its stated objectives is a strong driving force in this collaboration.

In May 2000, USAID awarded JSI the task order in Eritrea. TASC/JSI provides support for the development of guidelines and standards; training of healthcare workers, logistics management, monitoring and evaluation; and the implementation of policies to improve management systems and the quality of health care. The assistance emphasizes capacity building.

In addition, the project is also responsible for procuring equipment for health facilities because of the extensive damage done during the recent Eritrea-Ethiopia war.

The goals of this project are to enhance the Eritrean Ministry of Health’s capacities in the following areas:

• Planning and developing guidelines and standards.

• Providing training for service providers to deliver quality services in safe motherhood, reproductive health and family planning, the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI), and nutrition.

• Developing strategies for the Ministry of Health’s information, education, and communication (IEC) programs.

• Monitoring and evaluating their primary healthcare program and conducting operations research.

• Increasing south-south collaboration, dissemination of experiences and lessons, and organization of seminars and conferences.

TASC/Eritrea is a follow-on to three Global Bureau agreement mechanisms: BASICS, SEATS, and OMNI. The three agreements supported activities that were designed to reduce maternal and infant and child morbidity and mortality, including safe motherhood, child survival, reproductive health, and nutrition. TASC/Eritrea was designed to continue these activities and begin others, primarily focusing on capacity building activities for the central Ministry and targeted zonal administrations.