Eritrea, 7 August 2019 - Asmara, new WHO Representative to Eritrea Dr Martins Ovberedjo presented his credentials to the Honorable Minister of Foreign Affairs, His excellency Mr Osman Saleh and the Minister of Health, Her excellency Mrs Amina Nurhussien.

The Honorable Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Osman Saleh welcomed Dr Ovberedjo to Eritrea;  and underlined that his arrival to assume duties is momentous, as it coincided with the signing of a peace agreement ending two decades of conflict which broke out in 1998.   In this regard, he requested for WHO technical support to accelerate development of Eritrea’s capacity in international health regulation and to address cross border diseases and health security concerns. Hon. Mr Osman encouraged WHO to take advantage of the Eritrea “Island of Peace” era with Ethiopia and neighboring countries to deepen WHO collaboration with Eritrea to document and share health best practices nationally and internationally.

Also, the Honorable Minister of Health, Mrs Amina Nurhussien welcomed Dr Martins Ovberedjo, and underlined the government strong political commitment for health and the tremendous achievement scored by the State of Eritrea in the health sector despite limited resources; and appreciated the excellent technical support received from WHO.

The Honorable Minister, assured Dr Ovberedjo of full support and cooperation from the Government of the State of Eritrea.  She highlighted the following health priorities:

• Implementation of elimination strategy of the following diseases Malaria, TB, Neglected Tropical diseases;
• Signing and implementation of the  Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC),
• Training and capacity building for health workers,
• Addressing growing challenge of mental health and road traffic accidents; and
• Strengthening emergency preparedness response capacity.
• Improving access to quality health services for the population

The Honorable Minister of Health thereafter, presented important health strategic documents including the Eritrea Health Sector Strategic Plan, Human resources for health strategic plan 2017/2021, the national health Policy 2020 and current Eritrea Health Bulletin Special edition 2018 to Dr Ovberedjo.

From WHO’s side, Dr Ovberedjo conveyed special greetings from WHO Director General, Dr Tedros Adhanom, and the Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso R Moeti. Dr Ovberedjo congratulated the State of Eritrea for the tremendous achievements underscored during MDGs and noted that Eritrea is currently on track and progressing towards achievement of the SDGs targets.

Dr Ovberedjo expressed gratitude to the Honorable Ministers and the country authorities for the very warm welcome. He pledged his commitment to enhance the existing strong ties between Eritrea and WHO, and also to consolidate on the numerous achievements of his predecessors to enable accomplishment of the identified health priorities in the country.

At the end, the two Ministers wished Dr Ovberedjo a fruitful and pleasant stay in Eritrea.