Eritrea is small, coastal country strategically located along the Red Sea in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Sudan, Ethiopia and Djibouti. Eritrea is divided into six administrative regions called ‘zobas’, which vary in size, population and socioeconomic conditions.
The country has seen consistent improvements in life expectancy (rising from 50 years in 1990 to 65 years in 2015) and expected years of schooling (from 3.8 years in 1995 to 5.4 years in 2010) and strong social outcomes in the face of limited resources. Nevertheless, challenges remain. An unfinished maternal and child health agenda is compounded by a significant rise in Non-Communicable Disease (NCDs). Skilled birth attendance remains low, between 35-60%, maternal mortality ratio high at 485 deaths per 100,000 live births and under-five malnutrition also high with 52% of children underweight (World Bank, 2020).
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