heks

The aid strategy for Eritrea adopted by HEKS, scheduled to run from 2006 to 2008, supports local partner organisations in their endeavours to remedy the humanitarian crisis and to foster sustainable development in a valid way. Eritrea is in the bottom third in official poverty statistics. In the UNO Human Development Index the country on the Red Sea is ranked 157th out of 177. Eritrea is characterised by political instability and repeated armed conflicts with its neighbouring countries (Ethiopia, Yemen, Djibouti). The biggest challenges in terms of development are its lack of infrastructure and basic supplies for the largely rural population. Eritreans are afflicted with malnutrition, poor health care, lack of access to drinking water and lack of education. Eritrea has entered the record books in sad circumstances in recent years as the country from which the most asylum applications have been made for Switzerland.

Aims, points of focus, initiatives:

One key aim of the programme is for HEKS to help ensure the survival of selected communities. The goal is for the people, households and communities concerned to be able to build up their own natural, material, financial and social resources and, by taking ownership of these tasks, to be better equipped for potential conflicts, droughts, floods or famines. The intention is a life of self-sufficiency, human dignity and social integration for the target groups. In order to achieve these aims the Eritrea programme run by HEKS is based on four main pillars:

1. The projects work towards safeguarding the food supply and the survival of selected communities. The focus is on water supplies.
2. The civil society is broadly underpinned.
3. HEKS supports reconstruction measures in communities affected by the war.
4. Communities and partner organisations are prepared for humanitarian emergencies.