Eritrea

Since November 2025, the AICS Cairo Office has been responsible for Eritrea.

Although the country is situated in a strategic location along one of the major trade routes crossing the Red Sea, it is characterised by significant structural vulnerabilities. In fact, following the crisis with Ethiopia from 1998 to 2000, Eritrea experienced a prolonged stalemate described as “neither war nor peace” and had to face international sanctions for a decade.

The normalisation of relations with Ethiopia in 2018 and the lifting of the sanctions have allowed gradual development. However, Eritrea remains a country vulnerable to economic and climate shocks and to regional instability: its relations, not only with Ethiopia but also with Sudan, Somalia, Djibouti and Yemen, are regarded as key external factors affecting the country’s socio-economic prospects.

Eritrea is characterised as a high‑risk crisis context, according to the European Union, requiring urgent humanitarian assistance and, at the same time, development interventions, in line with the Triple Nexus approach (humanitarian action, development and peace). The Eritrean government’s long-standing isolation from the international community means that information and data on the country’s humanitarian needs are extremely scarce and difficult to verify. The level of coordination amongst humanitarian agencies and of strategic assessment of the country’s needs is still minimal, as confirmed by the absence of a humanitarian response plan agreed upon by the United Nations agencies. According to the latest figures, 1.1 million people – out of a total population of 3.7 million – are in need of humanitarian assistance, including 745,600 children.

At present, the country remains extremely poor, with a Human Development Index (HDI) of 0.503, placing it 178th  out of 193 countries, below the average for sub-Saharan African countries (UNDP data for 2023), with multiple factors contributing to this situation.

Humanitarian and emergency aid, rural development and food security, healthcare, and the promotion of cultural heritage: these are the areas of focus for the Italian Development Cooperation in the country.