Malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS are diseases which heavily burden Eritrea. A highland strip including the capital city of Asmara is at low risk for malaria, but malaria is found in both the coastal strip along the Red Sea and low-lying inland regions. The malaria death rate in Eritrea is 391 per 100,000 ages 0-4, and chloroquine resistance is widespread. The WHO has estimated that the annual risk of infection for TB in Eritrea is 2 percent, and that 44 percent of TB cases are detected and treated under DOTS. The HIV prevalence rate of under 3 percent is about half the prevalence rate of neighboring Ethiopia. The World Bank estimated in 2000 that the number of AIDS cases in Eritrea was doubling every year.

Sources: World Bank, Synergy Project, CIA Fact Book, United Nations Statistics Division, Fit For Travel (malaria risk map)

The government has also considered ways to market treated bednets to prevent the transmission of malaria. Eritrea has an Intersectoral Committee on Malaria directing a strategic plan of action for the years 2000-2004.

Sources: World Bank, UNAIDS, WHO

Demographic data contained in this section was obtained from the following sources: The Population Reference Bureau’s 2009 World Population Data Sheet was used for total population, life expectancy at birth, infant mortality, fertility, birth rate, death rate, % of married women 15-49 using modern methods of contraception, % of population 15-49 with HIV/AIDS in 2007/2008, and the GNI PPP per capita (2008). Literacy rates were found in the Population Reference Bureau’s publication 2005 Women of Our World. HIV prevalence data for 2001 and 2003 was obtained from the UNAIDS Barcelona 2002 report; HIV prevalence and orphan data for 2005 was obtained from the UNAIDS Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic 2006. Data on the % women who have discussed AIDS prevention with their husband or partner can be found in ORC Macro and USAID’s Women’s Lives and Experiences: Changes in the Past Ten Years (Research Findings from the Demographic and Health Surveys). Childhood malaria mortality data was accessed in 2003 from the United Nations Statistics Divisions’ Millennium Indicators. Tuberculosis data was obtained from the United Nations Statistics Division’s Millennium Indicators: MDGInfo 2006. In some cases information was unavailable.

Source: WHO