Eritrea: Women in Health Care

3 February 2021

Throughout the course of history, women have been an indispensable part of the provision of healthcare. From midwives to herbalists, from nurses to surgeons, their contributions and achievements have been vital to health and medicine. A study conducted by Langer et al. in 2015 states that women deliver health care to around five billion people globally and contribute about 3 trillion USD annually to global health. Many of the global health milestones reached over the past half-century wouldn't have been possible without the involvement of women. According to the World Health Organization, in 2013 women accounted for 70% of the health and social care workforce worldwide while in Africa, they accounted for 54%.

Looking back at our own history, women made up almost one-third of the liberation army during the struggle for Eritrea's independence, and many of them worked as health care providers in various areas of health and medicine. Nurses, physicians, pharmacists, lab technicians and first aid workers (both male and female) worked side-by-side to provide healthcare to freedom fighters and civilians in liberated areas. There was no gender discrimination, and there were no gender differences when it came to getting the job done. In fact, it was an era marked by female empowerment, where women were active participants in the decision-making process. This period of our history ascertained that gender equality is not a faraway aspiration, but an attainable goal.

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