Year of Impact: Eritrea’s Resident Coordinator on Turning Challenge into Change

One year can make an enormous difference. Having completed a year in the role of UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Eritrea, Nahla Valji reflects on the complex context of the country, the unique position of the UN to partner with Eritrea on its development journey, and the immense potential to be unlocked in this country. 

Every Day is a Learning Day

The job of the Resident Coordinator is incredibly impactful, challenging, and important for the UN system and the countries in which we serve. Coming in, you know the role in theory, but it's hard to understand the full complexity of it until you’re in it.

My favorite part of this experience has been the learning curve. In the past year, I have learned not just about this beautiful country, but about our own work - from the logistics of a census to solar energy, from blue economy to archeology and oil spill prevention. The daily learning curve is extraordinary.

Mobilizing behind Eritrea’s Priorities

 What is unique about this country is its guiding philosophy of self-reliance. It is very important to Eritreans that they are utilizing their resources, their priorities and their leadership. This is a country that has free health care, free education and a focus on equality and social protection.

At the UN, we have a fairly small team, nine resident agencies and a similar number of nonresident agencies. And within the UN Cooperation Framework (2022-2026), we are very focused on the priorities of the country such as social protection, health, education, food security, but also broader economic transformation.

Climate is also a priority. This is a country that is historically one of the least contributors to climate change but one of the most impacted in Africa. Eritreans have really ensured that they are working on resilience, mitigation and response. For example, rapid reforestation is an issue where the entire country comes together, including students who, during their holidays, plant trees and learn about caring for the planet and their responsibility for that. There are over 900 dams in this country. As a drought prone area of the world, they have prioritized conserving water and soil. These are some of the areas that the UN is partnering on.

As a team, we have agreed on five areas, or ‘big ticket items’, that the UN will come together on. These are areas that have the potential for transformation and where we can contribute by being more integrated and coordinated in our response. They are - food systems, data, community and climate resilience, social protection and finally, strategic communications. 

Making a Tangible Difference

There is little visibility for the progress that has been made already in Eritrea. The country was one of a few to achieve the Millenium Development Goals on health, and has near universal immunization. There is a concerted effort focused on equality and leaving no one behind, and this is the key ask of the UN - to be focused on those hardest to reach.  It is the overarching priority for our cooperation framework as well.

As a country, they have found innovative ways to target limited resources on those most vulnerable.

One example of this is the “barefoot doctors” initiative, where skilled individuals are sent out into communities that are completely inaccessible. One of the ministers was telling me about her time during the liberation struggle serving as a barefoot doctor. She showed us the mountain that she used to hike up for an hour and a half with a massive backpack filled with primary care materials and medication to reach the communities that lived there.

These are initiatives that the UN system is supporting to build on and scale up.

The UN country team’s work here comes together in a way that drives results at the community level. On a recent community visit, I was able to see how our collective efforts are bringing tangible impacts - we had the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) supporting on water and solar-powered irrigation, while the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) was working on diversifying crops. The UN Development Programme (UNDP) was working on reforestation while the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) was working to provide clean cookstoves. All of these various types of support were being brought together in an integrated and comprehensive way at the community level, informed  by the community’s leadership and guidance on what they need. In this manner, the UN’s work is made more impactful. Just being able to see the partnership between UN entities and our implementing partners in action at the community level is highly motivating.

Lastly, through strategic communications, we are trying to tell a more contextual, comprehensive and balanced story about this country. And from that, build partnerships, trust and the constructive engagement that this country needs to sustain progress.

The Key to Open Doors

This country is unique; the doors are always open. It is a country that is willing to partner with anybody as long as it is on terms that are aligned to and respectful of local leadership. As we take forward the outcomes of the Summit of the Future, and global governance and international financial institutions reforms, there are many things we can learn from here. Despite the complexities of the geopolitical situation in which this country finds itself, the partners on the ground here see the potential and the importance of constructive engagement - and they look to the UN to support them in doing that.

Big Ideas, Bigger Potential

Looking to the future, I would love to see the idea of tourism opening up here. This country is so beautiful, the people so welcoming, the culture unique, and there is a rich ancient history that is underexplored. The oldest mosque in Africa is here in Eritrea. People don't know that. People don't know the coral reefs. There are over 360 islands, pristine and completely untouched. The Red Sea coastline is vast and beautiful. Over the past months, we have seen an increasing number of diaspora visiting along with an increasing number of tourists. There is real potential through tourism to propel development, and to do it in a sustainable, eco-friendly way that drives acceleration across the Sustainable Development Goals. 

To learn more about RC Nahla Valji and the work of the UN team in Eritrea, please visit eritrea.un.org.