Mereja.Forum

Eritrea’s Cultural Festival: A Symbol of Unity and Deep Heritage

The Eritrean National Festival 2025 commenced on 9 August and was officially opened by President Isaias Afwerki at the Expo Grounds. The festival will remain open until 17 August, featuring traditional music and dances, children’s corner, an innovation hub, photo exhibition, artist’s paintings display, locally produced films, bazaars, seminars and panel discussions as well as and other activities.

The festival is a cornerstone of the nation’s cultural calendar offering a weeklong immersion into the heart of Eritrea, celebrating its rich past, dynamic present and ambitious future.

It is a testament to the resilient spirit of the Eritrean people bringing together Eritreans from each Zoba and visiting diasporeans, who converge in Asmara to enjoy the tradition so deeply edged in their national identity.

- European Union in Eritrea




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National Festival 2025 Colorfully Concludes

@shabait

Aug 18, 2025



The National Eritrean Festival 2025, which was officially opened by President Isaias Afwerki on 9 August at the Expo Compound, colorfully concluded yesterday with an official ceremony.

The closing ceremony was attended by Ministers, senior Government and PFDJ officials, as well as numerous artists and festival participants from across the regions of the country.

Ambassador Zemede Tekle, Commissioner of Culture and Sports, noted the effort required to accommodate more than 50,000 visitors daily and commended the strong participation of committees, partners, and the disciplined involvement of the public.



Ambassador Zemede also highlighted that the national festival serves as a forum where generations deepen their understanding, transfer noble societal values, and nurture competent and knowledgeable youth and children in one setting.

Mr. Solomon Dirar presented a report outlining the achievements registered and challenges encountered, during the week-long event. He stated that the festival was visited by about half a million people from across the country.

The festival featured cultural and musical performances, traditional villages showcasing the cultures and traditions of the various ethnic groups, exhibitions of products by institutions and regions, children’s educational and entertainment programs, book displays, painting and sculpture exhibitions, seminars, literature and poetry competitions, as well as research presentations, among others.



The closing ceremony was highlighted by cultural and artistic performances, with awards presented to individuals and groups who contributed to and participated in the successful implementation of the national festival.

General
Festival Eritrea 2025: a Celebration of Eritrea’s Cinematography

Mussie Efriem

https://shabait.com/2025/08/18/festival ... atography/

Aug 18, 2025



Festival Eritrea 2025, is an event of vibrant celebrations of the nation’s diverse cultural and artistic heritage. The festival brings together the unique characteristics and shared cultures of Eritrea’s six regions, highlighting the rich traditions and community spirit that define the country. It provides a dynamic platform, where the collective artistry and traditions that form the unique fabric of the Eritrean people is showcased.

Festival Eritrea 2025, which began on August 9th and ends on August 17th, has a space for a film pavilion with three distinct sections as part of the overall cultural celebration. The film pavilion has been set to showcase the country’s rich traditions and national identity, with a focus on locally produced films and seminars.

The film pavilion was introduced last year. Building on its success, this year’s edition is filled with an array of exhibitions that demonstrate the evolution and current status of Eritrea’s cinematography. The focus on film underscores its growing importance as a cultural and artistic medium within the country, celebrating a history that dates back around a century while also looking to the future of Eritrean storytelling. The exhibition provides a platform for filmmakers to engage with the public, share their work, and demonstrate the industry’s contributions in preserving the national identity.

The film industry in Eritrea plays a central role in storytelling, cultural preservation, and the expression of national identity. Through film, Eritreans are able to share their narratives, celebrate their history, and explore contemporary issues, all while fostering a sense of unity and pride among the populace.

The film pavilion at Festival Eritrea offers a unique opportunity to explore Eritrea’s evolving cinematic expressions, reflecting the country’s history, aspirations, and the creative spirit of its people. It has three sections.

In the first section are displayed technologies used in the film industry, highlighting the creativity and productions of various artists and enterprises. This provides a platform for both established and emerging filmmakers to display their work to the public and other industry professionals. The second section relates to the research-based panels and seminars at the West End and Bologna clubs. The panels and seminars offer a space for intellectual discourse on topics related to Eritrean culture, history, and development. The third section of the film pavilion is the outdoor screening of films. Held in the evenings, these screenings offer a selection of films for audiences. It’s an opportunity for a broader audience to engage with Eritrean cinema, contributing to the festival’s role in promoting arts and culture.

The history of cinema in Eritrea spans around a century, and the film pavilion at the festival is dedicated to honoring this rich legacy. It’s a journey through time, from the early days of movie-going to modern filmmaking. The pavilion is a tribute to the century-long history of Eritrean cinematography. It aims to showcase the journey of film in the country, highlighting its evolution and cultural significance. This immersive experience allows visitors to explore the roots and growth of Eritrean cinema. A central part of the pavilion is dedicated to the legacy of Cinema Impero, one of Eritrea’s pioneering cinemas, honoring its foundational role in establishing a vibrant film culture.

In the film pavilion, what impressed and terrified visitors was a live demonstration of a “severed hand” makeup effect featured by keven Tewelde and his team mate. This was not a pre-recorded video display, but a live performance of effects makeup on a person. That impressive makeup effect highlighted the crucial role of special effects makeup in making a film’s narrative believable and emotionally impactful. For attendees, it was a profound experience, serving as a reminder that the horror and suspense they feel while watching a movie are often born from the masterful, painstaking work of artists like these, who bring fictional horrors to life with simple tools and remarkable skill. This exhibition was a testament to the fact that the most significant behind-the-scenes activities are often the ones that feel the most immediate and real, making the fictional world of cinema feel truly alive.



In the film pavilion’s exhibition, one of the most compelling displays was also the recreation of a scene from “Barud 77,” Eritrea’s first feature film, that was released in 1997. The Waka team meticulously reconstructed a setting from the movie, transporting visitors back to the year 1977. This was particularly captivating because it was more than just a prop display; it was a fully immersive environment. Attendees could physically step into a scene from the film, which gave them a tangible connection to the historical period and a deeper appreciation for Eritrea’s cinematic roots. This exhibition served as a powerful testament to the art of set design and its crucial role in bringing a film’s world to life, allowing the public to experience a piece of their nation’s film heritage firsthand.

Through concerted efforts, the Eritrean film industry is using film as a powerful tool to preserve and promote the country’s cultural heritage. As film committee member Samuel Habtemariam said, by producing domestic films that reflect and celebrate the society’s own traditions and values, filmmakers are working to protect the nation’s identity and ensure it remains vibrant and accessible for future generations. Yohannes Berhane, representing the National Union of Eritrean Youth and Students, provided a detailed explanation of the history of Cinema Impero, which is one of the three earliest cinemas in Eritrea operated by the Union. A section of the film pavilion was dedicated to the Cinema’s architectural heritage and the cinematography history. Constructed in 1937 and opening its doors to the public in 1941, Cinema Impero is not only one of the nation’s oldest cinemas but is also well known for its exceptional Art Deco, a style that defines much of Asmara’s unique architecture.

The film pavilion at Festival Eritrea also had space for the display of films produced by several prominent video production companies, including BIS, Amir Graphics, and Yonan. These companies are recognized for their significant contributions to the development of Eritrean audio-visual industry. Their inclusion in the exhibition demonstrates the ongoing evolution of filmmaking in Eritrea and their role in creating a large body of the nation’s contemporary audio-visual content. By having their works displayed, the companies were able to provide the audience with a comprehensive look at the landscape of modern Eritrean video production. The film pavilion at the festival also showcased a locally made camera crane, highlighting the ingenuity and resourcefulness of the country’s filmmakers. This exhibit demonstrated that filmmakers are not only creating content but also actively involved in developing the equipment needed for production.


Cinema Impero

መሬትን ኣተሓሕዛኡን

ዓንዶም ግርማይ (ወዲ-ደረስ) @shabait

Aug 18, 2025



ብንቑጽ መሬትን ዝቖመት እያ። ካብ’ዚ እቲ ንቑጽ መሬት እንብሎ ክፋል ዓለምና፡ ኣብ ዝተፈላለዩ ኣጋጣሚታትን ብዝተፈላለዩ ምኽንያታትን ብባህርያውን ብሰብ ዝሰርሖን ጎቦታት፡ ስንጭሮታት፡ ኣጻድፍን ጐላጉልን፡ ወዘተ. ቅርጽታት ሒዙ ዝቘመ ክኸውን ከሎ፡ ብውሽጣዉን ግዳማውን ሓይልታት በብግዜኡ እናተናወጸን መልክዑ እናቐያየረን ንሚልዮናት ዓመታት ዝነብር ዘሎ ድማ፡ ሓደ ኣካል ናይዛ እንነብረላ ምድሪ (Plane­t) እዩ።

መሬት፡ ባህርያዊ (ተፈጥሮኣዊ) ሃብቲ እያ። መዕቆቢን ምንጪ መግቢን ወዲ- ሰብ ከምኡ ድማ ናይ’ቶም ኣብ ንቑጽ መሬት ዝነብሩ ካብ ዝደቐቑ ክሳብቶም ዝዓበዩ ኩሎም ህይወታውያን ፍጡራት እያ። ስለዝኾነ፡ ኣተሓሕዛናን ምሕደራናን ኣብ መሬት ኣዝዩ ጥንቁቕን ውሕሉልን ክኸውን ዝግባእ ክንሱ፡ ተገዳስነት ዘይብሉን ኣዕናዉን ምስ ዝኸውን ግን መሬት ተነቃፊ ስለዝኾነ፡ በብግዚኡ እናዓነወ፡ እናተባሕጐጐ፡ እናጠፍአን እናደኸየን እዩ ዝኸይድ። ውጽኢት ናይ’ዚ ድማ፡ ኣበርክቶኡን ፍርያምነቱን እናተጸንቀቐ ስለዝኸይድ፡ ቀጻልነቱ ኣብ ሓደጋ ወዲቑ ዓለምና ድማ ናብ ምድረ-በዳ እናተለወጠት ሳዕርን ኣግራብን ዘይበቑላ ብኡ መንጽር እንስሳታት ክፈርዩላን ክስስኑላን ዘይክእሉ ወዲሰብ ንኽነብረላ ዘይትምችእ ከምትኸውን ኣየጠራጥርን።

ሕጂ ኣብዚ ጽሑፍ፡ “መሬት’ ተባሂሉ ዝጥቀስ ዘሎ፡ እቲ ንግዳማዊ ላዕላዋይ ክፋል ገጽ ምድሪ ብዓቢኡ ድማ፡ ንፍርያም ሓመድ ዝሓቊፍ ንቚጽ መሬት ዝወህብ መጸውዒ እዩ። ኣሰያዪማ መሬትና ኣብ ሃገርና፡ ብተፈጥሮ ብጂኦሎጂካዊ ኣቀማምጣ ዝቘመ ዓይነት ሓመድ መሰረት ገይሩ ዝተዋህበ ኮይኑ፡ መሬት ድዃ፡ መሬት ዋላኻ፡ መሬት ጸባርያ፡ መሬት ሑጻ፡ መሬት ባዕከል፡ ወዘተ. እናተባህለ ድማ ይጽዋዕ፡ ፡ ከከም ዓይነቱ፡ ዓቕሙን ጠባዩን ከኣ ኣብ ዝተፈላለዩ ጠቕምታት ከምዝውዕል ይግበር። ንኣብነት፡ ኣብ ዋላኻ ዝዝርኡ ካብቶም ኣብ ጸባርያ ዝዝርኡ ኣእካል፡ ዝተፈልዩ ምዃኖም ሓረስቶትና ብተሞክሮ ካብ ወለዶ ናብ ወለዶ እናተወራረሰ ዝመጸ ኣጸቢቖም ዝፈልጥዎን ንብዙሕ ዓመታት ዝጥቀምሉን ዘለዉ ኣገባብ ማሕረስ እዩ።

ምሕደራ መሬት ኣብ ሃገርና፡ ጂኦግራፊካዊ ኣቀማምጣን በቲ ዝህቦ ጠቕምን ብምፍላይ ከከም ዓይነቱ እናተመደበ፥

1) መሬት ሕርሻ
2) መሬት መገሃጫ
3) መሬት ጤሳ፡ ወዘተ... ተባሂሉ ብስነ- ፍልጠታዊ ኣመዳድባን ኣጠቓቕማን ፈላሊኻ ብምሓዝ፡ ከከም ዓይነቱ ኣብ ጥቕሚ ብምውዓልን ጥንቁቕ ምሕደራ ክካየደሉ ከምዘለዎን ብኣዋጅ ተደንጊጉ ንረኽቦ።

መብዛሕትኡ ግዜ ኣብ ብዙሓት ሃገራት ዓለም ክልተ ዓይነት ኣጠቓቕማ መሬት ኣሎ። እቲ ሓደ ንመሬት ናይ ውልቂ ሃብቲ ገይሩ ዝንቀሳቐስ ክኸውን ከሎ፥ እቲ ካልኣይ ድማ፡ መሬት ናይ መንግስቲ ወይ ሃብቲ ሃገር ዝብል እዩ። ኣብዚ ኣብ ሃገርና እንጥቀመሉ ካልኣይ ዓይነት ኣተሓሕዛ መሬት፡ ንዜጋታት ማዕረ ዕድል ተጠቃምነት ጸጋታት መሬት ከምዝህልዎም ዝገብር እዩ። ስለ ዝኾነ መንፈስ ኣዋጅ መሬትና፣ መሬት፡ ብፍግረ መሬት ከይዓኑ ተጠቀምቲ ሓላፍነት ወሲዶም ክሕልዉዎን በብግዚኡ ክከናኸንዎን ከምዝግባእ የነጽር።

መሬት ብዘይካ እቶም ኣብ ሓደ ሓደ ናብ ባሕርታትን ውቅያኖሳትን ቅርበት ዘለወን ሃገራት - ንኣብነት ከም ብዓል ኔዘርላንድ (ሆላንድ) ዝኣመሰላ ሃገራት ዝነብሩ ህዝቢ፡ ንቚጽ መሪት ከስፍሑ ንገለ ክፋላት ማያዊ ኣካል ሓመድ ብምምላእ ዝፍትንዎ ብዙሕ ግምት ዘይወሃቦ ሰብ- ሰርሖ ምስፋሕ መሬት ኣሎ። ነዚ ገዲፍካ፡ ስፍሓት እንነብረሉ ንቑጽ መሬት ናይዛ ዓለም ኣዝዩ ውሱን እዩ ክበሃል ይከኣል። እዚ ስለ ዝኾነ ድማ፡ ንዘለና ዝርካቡ መሬት ብጥንቃቐን ብክንክንን ምሓዝ ኣገዳሲ ጉዳይ ይገብሮ። ስለ’ዚ፡ ደቂ ሰብ ኣብ ልዕሊ መሬት ንእንገብሮ ግጉይ ኣተሓሕዛ ከነወግድ፡ ነቲ ብሚልዮናት ዓመታት ዝተኸዘነን ብኣእማን፡ ኣኻውሕ፡ ሑጻ፡ ኣግራብን ሳዕርን ዝተደኮነን ሓመድ፣ ብወሓይዝን ብህቦብላ ንፋሳትን ተባሕጒጉን ተዘርዩን ከይጠፍእ ክንዕቅቦን ክንሕልዎን ግዴታና ምዃኑ ክንርዳእ ይሕግዘና።



ሓደ ኣብነት ናይ’ዚ፡ ኣብ ሃገርና ዓመት መጸ ብዝናብ ክረምቲ፡ ኣብ ወቕቲ ሓጋይ ድማ ብሓያል ንፋስ እናተባሕጐጐን እናተሃንደሰን ዝኸይድ ፍርያም ሓመድ ክንደይ ክበሃል። ምጥፋእ ሓመድ ማለት ከኣ ምብራስ ኣግራብን ምጽናት ዳግም ብቐሊሉ ክትክኡ ዘይክእሉ እንስሳታት ዘገዳምን ዘኸትል ገዚፍ ዕንወት ከም ማለት እዩ። ብሰንኪ እዚ ዝተጠቕሰ ኣሰካፊ ተርእዮ ፍግረ መሬት፡ ክሳብ ሕጂ ብዙሓት ንዓይኒ ዝማርኹ ዝነበሩ ጎቦታት፡ ጐላጉል፡ መሬት ሕርሻ ግራውቲ በብዓመቱ እናተሰንጠቑ ናብ ንኣሽቱን ዓበይትን ሩባታት፡ ገደላትን ስንጭሮታትን ጸርዮም መልክዖምን ናይ ቀደም ግርማኦምን ተደዊኑን ካብ ጠቕሚ ወጻኢ እናኾኑ ክኸዱ ንርኢ ኣለና።

ኣብ ሃገርና ካብ ዘለና ንቚጽ መሬት ኣስታት 500 ሽሕ ሄክታር ኣብ መዓላ ሕርሻ ዝውዕል ስቡሕ መሬት ሕርሻ ኣሎና። እዚ ከም ርእሰ-ማል እንርእዮ ስቡሕ መሬት ሕርሻ እውን እንተኾነ፡ ኣብዚ ግዜ’ዚ ኣብ ኣሰካፊ ኩነታት ወዲቑ ከምዘሎ ብዙሓት ዝዛረቡሉ ዘለዉ ሓቂ እዩ። ዓመት መጸ ፍግረ መሬት ዝጠንቁ ኣብ ክረምቲ ዝኽሰት ዝጨራረም ፍርያምነቶም ዝደክን ግራውቲ፡ ኣብ ርእሲ’ዚ በብግዜኡ ዝፍጠሩ ዘለዉ ሓደስቲ ሩባታትን ስንጭሮታትን ቅድሚ ምስፈሖምን ምዕማቖምን ስቡሕ ሓመዶም’ውን ተባሕጒጉን ተጸሪጉን ቅድሚ ምጥፍኡ፡ ህዝቢ በብከባቢኡ ብወፈራታት ተወዲቡ መሬት ኣብ ምድልዳልን ምዝላይን ከይተሓለለ ክጽዕት ይግባእ። ብተወሳኺ ሰባት ኣብ ልዕሊ ባህርያዊ ሃብቲ (መሬትን ኣግራብን) ውጉዝ ክኸውን፡ ብዓዲታት ኣብ ውሸጠን ዝገብራኦ ምሕደራን ሕጋጋትን ካብዚ ዝሓልፍ ድማ ብኣዋጅ መንግስቲ እናተማእዘኑን ተመጣጣኒ ስጒምቲ እናተወስደሎምን ዘላቕነትን ምሕደራ መሬት ክሕሎን ክረጋገጽን ሓላፍነት ናይ ሕብረተሰብ እዩ። ካብዚ ሓሊፉ፡ ሕጊ መንግስትን ዓድን እናጠሓስካ ግዝያዊ ውልቃዊ ረብሓታት ንምርዋይ ሓላፍነት ዘይስመዖም ሰባት ዝፍጸሙ በደላትን ዝጠሓሱ ሕጋጋትን ሳዕቤን ጉድኣቶም ናብ ውሉድ ወለዶ ዝሰጋገር ስንብራት ዘስዕብ በደል ስለዝኾነ፡ ኣከባብያዊ ንቕሓት ሕብረተሰብና ክብ ንምባል፡ ጻዕርና ክሕይል ኣለዎ።

ኣብዚ ግዜዚ ኣብ ሃገርና ብሰንኪ ፍግረ መሬትን ሰብ ዝሰርሖ ግጉይ ንጥፈታትን ፍርያምነት ምድሪ ኣዝዩ እናንቈልቈለ፡ ብዝሒ ካብ ሕርሻ ተጠቃሚ ዝኾነ ህዝቢ ድማ እናዓበየ ይኸይድ ምህላዉ ንጹር’ዩ። በዚ ምኽንያት ንዘጋጥሙ ሽግራት ንምብዳህ፡ ዘላቒ ምሕደራ መሬት ብምጥቃም ንባህላውን ድሑርን ኣገባብ ማሕረስ በብቝሩብ እናወገንና፡ ሕርሻዊ ቴክኖሎጂ ብምትእትታው ናብ ዘመናዊ ኣገባብ ሕርሻ ምእታው ከድልየና እዩ። ከምዚ ብምግባርና ድማ፡ እቶትን እቶታውነትና ዘዛይድ መስርሕ ስለዝኾነ ዝያዳ ጠመተና ናብኡ ክኸውን የድሊ። ነዚ ዝተጠቕሰ ትልሚ ክንወቅዕ ነቶም ክሳብ ሕጂ ተሰሪሖም ማይ መሊኦም ተስፋ ዘስንቑና ዘለዉ ዓበይትን ንኣሽቱን ዲጋታት፡ ቊጽሮም ከምዝብርኽ ምግባር ብሓደ ወገን፡ ኣብ ሓጺር ግዜ ድበት ከይመልኡ ከባቢኦም ዝኾኑ ማይ ክዖታትን ዛላታትን ብኣትክልትን ሳዕርን ከምዝሽፈኑ ኣብ ምግባር ድማ ማዕረ ማዕረኡ ጻዕርና ከነሕይል ዘለና’ዩ። ኣብ ርእሲ’ዚ ዝተዋህለለ ማይ ብሰፊሑ ኣብ ጠቕሚ ውዒሉ ብመግቢ ርእስና ክንክል ካብዚ ሓሊፍና’ውን ንሰደድ ዝዓለመ ምህርቲ ከነፍሪ ነዚ ዘማልኣልና ኣገባብ ከነቋምት ኣሎና። ሓደ ካብኡ ዘመናዊ መስኖኣዊ ሕርሻታት ከነተኣታቱ ድማ ግዜኡ ዝጠልቦ እዩ።



ካልእ በዚ ኣጋጣሚ ከይተጠቕሰ ክስገር ዘይግበኦ ጒዳይ፡ ብከላ መሬት ዝምልከት እዩ። ብሓፈሻዊ ኣዘራርባ ብከላ ኣከባቢ ክበሃል ከሎ፡ ብከላ መሬት፡ ማይ፡ ኣየር፡ ባሕሪ፡ ድምጺ፡ ወዘተ. ዘጠቓልል እዩ። ካብዞም ዝተጠቕሱ ንብከላ ዝተቓልዑ ባእታታት ሓደ መሬት’ዩ። መሬት ኣዝዩ ተነቃፊ ስለዝኾነ ውጽኢት ዝተፈላለዩ እንዱስትሪታት፡ ዓበይትን ንኣሽቱን ማሽነርታትን መካይንን ዝኾኑ ዝተበላሸዉ ዓይነታት ዘይቲ (ኦልዮ ብርሻቶ)፡ ካልኦት ንሓደ ሓደ ጒዳይ ንምስላጥ ተባሂሎም ኣብ ፋብሪካታት ዝተሰርሑ’ሞ፡ መዓልቶም ሓሊፉ ዝተበላሸዉ ከሚካላትን ውጽኢቶምን ብፍላይ ድማ ካብ ውጽኢት ትካላት ዕደናን መመንጨዊ ሓይሊ ኤለክትሪክ ዝኾኑ ሓደገኛታት በከልቲ ከሚካላት ከምኡ’ውን ንሕርሻዊ መዓላ ንጥቀመሎም ዝተፈላለዩ ጸረ-ባልዓት ገለ ካብቶም ንመሬት ብቐሊሉ ክብክሉ ዝኽእሉ እዮም። ነዚ ከምዚ ዝኣመሰለ ተርእዮ ንምውጋድ፡ ብመንግስቲ ዝውሰዱ ንጥፈታት ምህላዎም ዝፍለጥ ኮይኑ፡ ዝለዓለ ተራ ዘለዎ ግን ሕብረተ-ሰብ እዩ።

ታሪኽ ከምዝነግረና ቅድሚ ሓደ ሚእቲ ዓመት 30 ሚእታዊት መሬት ኤርትራ፡ ብኣግራብን ሳዕርን ዝተሸፈነ፡ ብበብዓይነቶም እንስሳ ዘገዳምን ኣዕዋፍን ሃብታም ምንባሩ ይዝንቶ። ኣብዚ እዋን ግን እቲ ዝነበረ ስለዝጠፍአ፡ ንዕኡ ናብ ዝነበሮ ንምምላስ ብህዝቢን መንግስቲን ከቢድ ስራሕ ዳግመ ፍወሳ መሬት ይካየድ ኣሎ። ከም’ቲ ኣብ መምርሒ ምሕደራ ኣከባቢ እውን ዘሎ፡ ዝኾነ ህይወታዊ ፍጡር ኣብ ንጹህ ኣከባቢ ምንባር መሰሉ ካብ ኮነ፡ ድሕነቱ ዝተሓለወ ኣከባቢ ምፍጣር ሓላፍነት ነፍሲ-ወከፍ ሰብ ምዃኑ ምርዳእ የድሊ።

ጥዑይ ሕብረተሰብ - ኣብ ውሑስ ኣከባቢ!
ክፍሊ ኣከባቢ (ሚ/መ/ማ/ኣከባብን)

The EPLF pioneered the Barefoot Doctors program (BFDs) to promote health services to remote areas. Since Eritrea independence in 1991, 80% of the people get healthcare within easy reach. In 2019, the Govt revived the BFD to reach the 20% that are beyond clinics reach. @UNinEritrea




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Since Eritrea gained independence in 1993, it has focused on literacy and education, reaching a 93.3% youth literacy rate by 2018, according to UNESCO.





The Eritrean Book Fair, started in 2002, encourages reading among youth by featuring local authors and books in all nine Eritrean languages.



Authors like Tombossa Asmelash Berhe, with works such as ክመሃር ድየ ክጋደል and ቀያሕቲ ዕምባባ, contribute to this culture by documenting Eritrea’s history and diversity.

Permanent Desert Locust Invasion Monitoring Center in Gadm-Halib



A permanent desert locust invasion monitoring center has been established in Gadm-Halib administrative area, through the coordination of the Ministry of Agriculture’s central office. The center is located about 60 km east of Afabet town.

Mr. Efrem Kiflu, head of Administration and Finance at the Ministry of Agriculture, said the construction of the center was carried out mainly by members of the Defense Forces, with participation from the Segen Construction Company, Adi-Hallo Project, and the Office of the Chief of Staff of the Eritrean Defense Forces in designing and supervising the project.

Residents and administrators of Afabet sub-zone, particularly from the Gadm-Halib administrative area, said the establishment of the monitoring center would significantly ease the burden previously shouldered by locals in monitoring and controlling desert locust infestations.

Members of the Defense Forces, who took part in the project, expressed satisfaction with their contribution and the timely completion of the center.




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Training on Material Management and Procurement



The Ministry of Agriculture organized training for 62 of its members on material management, procurement, and transit management. The training was conducted at the Ministry’s Regulatory Service Office in Villagio.

The participants included members of the Ministry from the six regions of the country, the central office, administration and finance, the National Agricultural Research Centers, regulatory services, and the National Animal Health Laboratory.

The trainees stated, that the training would make a significant contribution to facilitating their daily activities. They commended the organizers and the trainers for their efforts.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the program on 15 August, Mr. Arefaine Berhe, Minister of Agriculture, noted that procurement and material management are among the Ministry’s most essential activities. He called on the trainees to practically apply the knowledge they gained in their workplaces.

Minister Arefaine also stressed, that similar training programs aimed at developing the capacity of staff members will continue in earnest.

In the same vein, four months of training on poultry farming was provided to foster families in Dubarwa sub-zone.

Explaining that the objective of the training program was to improve the economic status of foster families, Ms. Tirhas Adresom, head of the National Union of Eritrean Women in the sub-zone, called on all concerned institutions to provide support to the families in their endeavors.

Mr. Abraham Yosief, representative of the administrator of the sub-zone, commended the initiative taken by the National Union of Eritrean Women and expressed the readiness of the sub-zonal administration to stand alongside the trainees in all their future activities.