Eritrea Wire

Validation Workshop to Develop “Nutrition Social Behavioral Change and Communication (SBCC) Roadmap and Manual”.

Thursday 16 June, 2022 at Hotel Asmara Palace

Honorable Ministers

High Government and UN Officials

Dear Participants

Invited Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

From the outset, allow me to commend the organizers, trainers and the trainees of this program that culminated into this Validation Workshop that is the outcome of several training packages that took nearly 3 years in a project named “Improving Nutrition in Eritrea: Agro-diversity Nourishing Communities (TCP/ERI/3704). This is a joint collaboration with FAO.

Today, through presentations, group work and discussions you have successfully reached the stage of termination of the project by proposing constructive ideas for the way forward for the next stage.

This is a collaboration of the National Project Coordination (NPC), input of the Technical Committee for Food and Nutrition Security, Partner Ministries (the Ministries of Agriculture, Health, Marine Resource and Fisheries, Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Eritrean Standards Institution). Additional collaboration also came from the Ministry Labor and Social Welfare, the Ministry of Education, the National Union of Eritrean Women, UN Agencies and the FAO Experts and their Consultants. We welcome them all!!

Over a period of time, the project covered (a) Trials of Improved Practice (b) Knowledge, Attitude and Practices (KAP) and (c) co-facilitation of Master Training (Training of Trainers), and (d) Social Behavioral Change Communication (SBCC).

The project also addressed locally available foods with high nutrition value and food demonstration for developing improved recipes and food diversity. Nutrition Sensitive Agriculture also became a prominent component.

The project has enhanced the nutritional impact of the “Minimum Integrated Household Agricultural Package (MIHAP)” in beneficiary communities through nutrition knowledge and skills, healthy complementary feeding, availability and access to diversified nutrient-dense foods, good health and hygiene practices coupled with rural women`s empowerment and national stakeholder`s capacity strengthening. In brief, MIHAP aims to improve the family and satisfy their food and nutrition requirements, while improving their economic status.

This validation workshop on SBCC is awareness raising issue. Awareness is a vital step to achieve optimal food and nutrition security and the prevention of malnutrition-related complications.

Nutrition is a multi-sector discipline integrating environment, food standards, trade, social welfare, education, health, media, social organizations and agricultural programs for successful interventions.

In between, while we talk about production and productivity, we also stress the need to make agriculture nutrition sensitive. The flagship program aims to improve the living conditions of beneficiary families and satisfy their food and nutrition requirements, while improving their economic status.

I thank you for your attention!!

Source: Ministry of Information Eritrea

Dozens of refugees camped outside the United Nations refugee agency office say they have been living in South Africa for two decades, but now they no longer feel safe.

Most are from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where they escaped war.
But increasingly, they say they’ve had their small businesses looted, homes robbed and been personally attacked amid growing waves of xenophobia.

Lillian Nyota has been a refugee in South Africa since 2001.

“We ran away from our country, running from tribulations,” she said. “We came here in South Africa, we found more trouble, more tribulations. Because xenophobic attack is real, xenophobia is real, no one can deny it. It’s real.”

South Africa is home to more than 250,000 asylum seekers. Nyota’s group said they’ve moved from community to community, but violence eventually follows.

She said they’re now asking that the United Nations refugee agency move them to a safe third country.

“Any place that they can take us that way we can be safe with our families,” Nyota said. “We can live and move on with our lives so that our children can go to school.”

Xenophobic violence has become increasingly pronounced in South Africa with bursts of riots and murders since 2008.

Earlier this year, amid a wave of anti-migrant marches, a Zimbabwean man was killed in a Johannesburg township, authorities say because of his nationality.

Experts blame the problem on the country’s history of violence, socioeconomic issues and growing anti-foreigner politics.

Silindile Mlilo, a researcher at the University of Witwatersrand, said with xenophobic violence, there is usually no differentiation between refugees or asylum-seekers.

“If government is not seen as doing anything, it also discourages migrants and refugees who are in the country, because it’s like, is it safe for me?” Mlilo said.

Resettlement is not an option for most refugees.

The U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, said only 1 percent of refugees globally are moved from one host country to another for exceptional circumstances.

Laura Padoan, spokesperson for UNHCR South Africa, said it’s only the most vulnerable refugees who are typically eligible for resettlement.

“That can be survivors of sexual or gender-based violence. It can be women and children at risk, people at risk because of their religious persecution,” Padoan said. “We really urge these refugees to take up the offer of local integration or repatriation, because no one wants to see people living out on the street.”

But these refugees outside her office maintain re-integration is not an option and say they will stay camped there until there’s a plan for them to leave South Africa.

Source: Voice of America

At a virtual meeting they conducted, nationals in various cities of Italy contributed 310 thousand 540 Euros for the successful implementation of activities of Eritrean communities in Italy.

St the meeting in which heads of PFDJ, National Union of Eritrean Women, YPFDJ, Eritrean communities as well Media and Diplomatic committees from 16 cities in Italy took part, Mr. Ghirmay Habtemicael, head of Public and Community Affairs at the Eritrean Embassy in Italy, said that in past six months successful activities have been conducted.

According to report, nationals in Milano contributed 114 thousand 390 Euros, nationals in Rome 58 thousand 600 Euros, nationals Bologna 37 thousand Euros, nationals in Firenze 24 thousand 300 Euros, nationals in Bari 11 thousand 550 Euros, nationals Napoli 11 thousand 400 Euros, nationals in Torino 9 thousand Euros, nationals in Parma 8 thousand 650 Euros, nationals in Catania 7 thousand 300 Euros, nationals in Verona 7 thousand 100 Euros, nationals in Abruso 5 thousand 950 Euros, nationals in Pisa 3 thousand 900 Euros, nationals in Palermo 3 thousand 200 Euros, nationals in Genoa 3 thousand 200 Euros, nationals in Brescia 2 thousand 900 Euros and nationals in Pistoia 2 thousand 100 Euros.

The participants also discussed on the preparation of the festival that will be held in Bologna in July.

Speaking at the event, Mr. Fesehatsion Petros, Eritrean Ambassador to Italy, gave extensive briefing on the objective situation in the homeland as well regional and global development and called on nationals to strengthen organizational capacity and participation in the national affairs.

Source: Ministry of Information Eritrea