A Tribute to Salih Meky

Salih Meky was the first ever Minister of Fisheries for the state of Eritrea before becoming the Minister of Health. He was a very influential member of the Eritrean cabinet and has represented Eritrea in many non-health related matters, especially with relation to foreign affairs. Mr. Meky served as the Chairman of the Council of Health Ministers for the WHO African region. He was trained in the United States and has efficiently worked toward equitably distributing Eritrea’s limited healthcare resources to both the rural and urban areas.

The quest for knowing and acting describes Salih Meky, who for many years was Minister of Health and recently Minster of Coastal Development of the state of Eritrea. His desire for building a strong healthcare for his people has guided his leadership journey in creating and elevating the quality of health for the entire nation of Eritrea. He was always committed to using his leadership abilities to both promote good governance for the ministry of health in all regions of Eritrea and to remove the barriers to excellence in health care delivery.

Salih Meky was a humble and wise leader that exemplifies a true dedicated patriot and an international pioneer. He has distinguished himself as well as the health care system of the Eritrean nation by working with international organizations that have had great working partnership with the people & Government of Eritrea. He was truly an inspiring leader on the move until his life got cut short on October 2^nd 2009.

Salih Meky was featured in the documentary “One Child Hood” for an exemplary work that his ministry along side of the ministry of Education in Eritrea did to help children get good education while having their teachers help with their health care needs. This was a truly classic example of two departments coming together to shape the lives of young Eritreans in every sector of the nation for the benefit of the nation. This type of domestic partnership between two ministries is uncommon in many countries however, Eritrea is truly blessed to have leaders the caliber of Salih Meky and he may be gone but his spirit will always remain with us.

On a personal note I would like to share a small story about Minister Salih Meky. During his trip to the United States about five years ago, I had the privilege of attending a seminar that he was giving to some influential members of the World Bank. After introducing the nation of Eritrea and it’s continued development as a new country, he started to talk about the health sector to the mostly international audience and health beat journalists. He expressed that Eritrea in a short period of time has made tremendous progress because of community involvement. As usual the questions started to come and Minister Meky equipped with facts and figures but also with his wit and fun personality turned the seminar into a classroom education that left the audience yearning for more. The fact that the deadly disease Malaria was slowly being eradicated from Eritrea and that it was because the entire nation fought against it was a pride for Minister Meky.

He expressed very proudly that the statistics are compelling and that the number of people dying from malaria has dropped by between 55 to 65 percent since 1999.  Mortality of children under five years of age dropped by 53 percent, while there was a 64 percent drop in the death rate for older children and adults. With his charged up energy he went on to share by saying “In 1991, our death toll among pregnant women from malaria was very high, today, it is non-existent.” Standing there and listening to him was a source of pride for me and it gave me the incentive to do more. I must say I was proud by the intellect of the minister and his complete analysis of the health sector of a fairly new nation. From his humble beginnings in Eritrea, Salih Meky will always go down in history as the person who exemplifies what it takes to be a good quality leader & servant of the people. I would like to express my condolences to his immediate family, his extended family the entire Eritrean people. The world lost a great man. Thank you Salih Meky.

Awet N’ Hafash & Zelalemawi Zikri n’swatna.

Mike Seium