Eritrean health minister visits campus

Dr. Steve Gloyd, left, director of the International Health Program, was introduced to Minister Selah Meky, center, by Sandra Chait, associate director of the Program on Africa.

The minister of health of Eritrea, the Horn of Africa nation that won its independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after three decades of war, was on the UW campus earlier this month to spark interest among health sciences students and faculty in the development of a new medical school at the University of Asmara, in the nation’s capitol.

The minister’s visit to Seattle stemmed from a discussion and visit to Eriteria by the UW’s Gretchen Kalonji, chair of the International Faculty Council; Sandra Chait, associate director of the Program on Africa, and Richard Anderson, professor of computer science and engineering. The trio made the trip in May to explore the possibility of an exchange program with the University of Asmara.

The UW group is interested in developing opportunities in Eritrea for faculty and students across a variety of schools and disciplines, including nursing, social work, computer science, fisheries and the humanities.

Kalonji, Chait and Anderson met with Minister of Health Saleh Meky at that time. Kalonji invited him to visit the UW, and he was able to do so after he attended the United Nations meetings on the world AIDS crisis, held in New York.

Minister Meky met with Dean Nancy Woods of the School of Nursing and Dr. Steve Gloyd, director of the International Health Program in the School of Public Health and Community Medicine. He was also scheduled to meet with several School of Medicine professors, although his time in Seattle was cut short because of travel delays on the East Coast.

He is eager to bring health sciences professionals and students to Eritrea to work with the country’s developing health care system and he believes Americans could gain valuable experience there.

Mortality rates among mothers and infants in Eritrea are among the highest in the world. Over a third of children are malnourished and malaria is the most common cause of death for people over the age of 4. Tuberculosis is also a problem.

These health challenges are compounded by lack of adequate water supplies and sanitation in rural areas.

Since independence, the young nation has been trying to build a health-care system, almost from scratch, building basic hospitals and health stations. Many more children are now being immunized and polio has been virtually eliminated. Minister Meky said he is following a strategy of focusing on primary health care for the population and on education about sanitation and health precautions.

In the future, the nation hopes to be able to educate doctors and other health care professionals in Asmara. Some Eritreans now study medicine in other countries, but many stay there after they finish their training. Meky would like to see a new medical school encourage Eritrean doctors to return.

Chait, associate director of the UW Program on Africa, said that no formal agreements have yet been made between the UW and the University of Asmara, but that independent research and study projects are in the works. Faculty members or students who would like more information should contact Gretchen Kalonji by e-mail at kalonji@u.washington.edu or Chait at schait@u.washington.edu.

For more on the Program on Africa, including photos taken around Asmara, see the Web site at
http://depts.washington.edu/poa

-UW sophomore Alex Baron interviewed Minister Meky for this story.