Eritrea’s Women in Medicine: From Mountain Caves to Modern Clinics

by Hadnet Keleta

Eritrean women have carried the nation’s medical story from the dimly lit underground hospitals of the independence struggle to the brightly lit operating rooms and rural clinics of today. Their journey is one of sacrifice, skill, and social transformation—an arc that mirrors Eritrea’s own path from war to nation‑building. Across Africa and the world, women form the backbone of healthcare, representing the majority of the global health and social care workforce. In Eritrea, this truth has been lived for decades, long before it was ever measured.

The Wartime Years: Medicine in the Shadows of Liberation

During the 30‑year War for Independence, Eritrean women stepped into roles few liberation movements had ever entrusted to them. Roughly one‑third of the EPLF’s fighters were women, but their presence in the medical corps was even more profound. With no formal hospitals, no steady supply chains, and constant aerial bombardment, they built a self‑reliant health network that treated both fighters and civilians under extraordinary pressure.

The underground medical world they created was unlike anything seen in conventional warfare. Clinics were carved into mountainsides to evade bombardment, their entrances hidden beneath rocks and brush. Inside, surgeries were performed under the flickering glow of kerosene lamps, often with improvised tools fashioned from whatever materials could be found. Mobile medics walked miles across rugged terrain to reach the wounded, carrying medical kits on their backs and hope in their hands. Barefoot doctors—many of them young women barely out of adolescence—delivered vaccinations, maternal care, and health education in liberated villages, often becoming the first health workers those communities had ever encountered.

These women were not assistants; they were the system itself. They carried rifles and medical satchels with equal resolve. They fought to defend life and fought again to save it. Many fighters later recalled how women medics embodied both the fierceness of combatants and the tenderness of mothers—giving life in the very places where life was most fragile.

Profiles in Courage

Among the most remarkable figures of Eritrea’s liberation era was Dr. Laynesh Gebrehiwot—the EPLF’s first dentist and a distinguished maxillofacial surgeon whose life reflects the rare fusion of professional excellence and unwavering patriotic commitment that defined many fighters of the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front. After completing eight years of medical training in Europe, she made an extraordinary decision in 1977: to abandon the comfort and prestige of a career abroad and return to join the EPLF, placing her knowledge and skills at the service of the struggle for national liberation.

In the harsh conditions of the liberation war, where medical supplies were scarce and facilities often improvised, Dr. Laynesh became a pioneering force in battlefield medicine. She established the first dental unit in the field and carried out complex trauma and reconstructive procedures in makeshift clinics—sometimes in caves or temporary shelters—under circumstances that would have been unimaginable in a conventional hospital. Her work provided life-saving care to fighters and civilians alike, while also laying the foundations for Eritrea’s future surgical and dental services.

Following independence, Dr. Laynesh continued to play a pivotal role in building the country’s medical infrastructure. She was instrumental in establishing Eritrea’s first dental school and has spent years training and mentoring young doctors, ensuring that a new generation of surgeons is equipped with both the technical expertise and the spirit of service required to serve the nation.

Her life story stands as a powerful testament to sacrifice and conviction. She could have chosen a life of comfort and professional recognition abroad; instead, she embraced the hardship of war and the demanding task of building national institutions from the ground up. Through decades of dedication, resilience, and quiet leadership, Dr. Laynesh Gebrehiwot has become a living symbol of Eritrean women’s strength and commitment to national service—a true living legend whose legacy continues to shape Eritrea’s medical future.

Equally influential was Dr. Abrehet Gebrekidan, an obstetrician who served in the underground hospitals of the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front during the liberation struggle. Working under extremely difficult conditions, she managed complicated births with minimal equipment and carried out emergency procedures in makeshift clinics, often in the midst of war and displacement. Her work saved the lives of countless mothers and infants and embodied the liberation movement’s ethos of equality, resilience, and service.

Born in Eritrea and raised partly in Ethiopia after losing her mother at a young age, Dr. Abrehet later earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing in the United States. While studying abroad, she became increasingly aware of Eritrea’s struggle for independence and eventually joined the EPLF, dedicating her medical training to the cause of national liberation.

During the war, she played a crucial role in establishing and organizing obstetric services within EPLF medical units. Despite severe shortages of equipment and supplies, she trained fellow medical workers in maternal and child care while helping develop maternity units that served both fighters and civilians. Over time, these improvised facilities grew into organized medical centers capable of providing life-saving care even amid epidemics and wartime hardships.

After Eritrea achieved independence, Dr. Abrehet continued her service in the country’s health sector. She worked in maternity wards helping rebuild the national health system and later became a lecturer at the Asmara College of Health Sciences. Throughout her career, she has remained dedicated to training the next generation of health professionals, ensuring that the knowledge and experience gained during the struggle continue to strengthen Eritrea’s medical services.

After Independence: Building a National Health System

When Eritrea achieved independence in 1991, the challenge shifted from survival to institution‑building. The wartime medical network became the blueprint for a national healthcare system. Women who had served in the field transitioned into roles as instructors, administrators, and specialists. Their wartime discipline and ingenuity became the backbone of the country’s new health infrastructure.

The establishment of the Orotta School of Medicine and Health Sciences marked a turning point. As the nation’s flagship medical institution, Orotta trained the first generation of homegrown physicians. Women were among its earliest graduates, entering fields such as surgery, pediatrics, internal medicine, dentistry, and public health. Their presence helped shape a modern, self‑reliant medical workforce rooted in the values of the struggle.

Nursing and allied health schools expanded across the country, producing thousands of women health workers who became the backbone of rural healthcare. Their work in vaccination, maternal health, and disease prevention dramatically improved national health outcomes. In remote villages, a nurse was often the first—and only—health professional families had ever met. Their presence transformed public health from an aspiration into a lived reality.

A New Generation of Medical Leaders

The daughters of independence—born in the 1980s and 1990s—are now shaping Eritrea’s medical identity. Their stories reflect the continuity between the resilience of the struggle era and the professionalism of the nation‑building years.

One of the most compelling examples is Dr. Alya Ibrahim, born and raised in Nakfa, a town synonymous with resistance. After completing national service in Sawa, she trained at Orotta as a dentist. Her journey symbolizes the bridge between wartime sacrifice and modern expertise, demonstrating how the spirit of Nakfa continues to shape Eritrea’s future.

Women like Dr. Saron represent the new generation of specialists leading maternal‑health programs, surgical units, and community‑health initiatives. Many serve in remote areas, continuing the tradition of medicine as a tool of social justice. They are the inheritors of the barefoot doctors’ spirit—modern professionals with the same unwavering commitment to community.

Medicine as Social Justice

Across both eras, Eritrean women in medicine have shared a common mission: bringing healthcare to those who need it most. Their work has delivered care to villages where no doctor had ever served, reduced maternal and child mortality through persistent outreach, and led vaccination campaigns that reached nomadic and rural populations. They have trained new generations of health workers, ensuring continuity of service and strengthening the nation’s health system from the ground up.

This commitment reflects the liberation ethos that healthcare is a right, not a privilege—a principle that continues to shape Eritrea’s public‑health identity.

A Legacy Still Growing

From underground hospitals to modern operating rooms, from barefoot doctors to university‑trained specialists, Eritrean women have carried the nation’s medical system on their shoulders. Their story is one of courage, innovation, and unwavering dedication to community well‑being. It is a legacy still unfolding, inspiring new generations to serve, to heal, and to build a healthier Eritrea.