Who Holds the Record · country brief · data as of 2026-10-01Who holds the health record in Eritrea?
In 2026, Eritrea scores 22 of 100 on a person's right to see, control and share their own health record: rank 191= of 196 countries (likely range 173 to 195), in the Poor band (0 to 24). Who holds the keys: State. Source: Who Holds the Record, SuperTruth, data as of 2026-10-01.
Eritrea has no data protection law and mostly paper records; doctors face prison for revealing secrets, but patients have no verified right to their records.
Published · updated · data as of 2026-10-01 · research tool, not legal advice
Can I get my health records in Eritrea?
Access to the full record scores 18 of 100 in Eritrea, against a median of 43 across 196 countries. We found no legal right for a patient to see or copy their medical record: the 2015 Civil Code's medical contract chapter is silent on records, and any such rule in other health proclamations is not verified. There is no patient portal.
Can I control who sees my health record in Eritrea?
Control and consent scores 22 of 100 in Eritrea, against a median of 30 across 196 countries. The Civil Code lets a person refuse treatment and stop a professional revealing what they confided. Beyond that, no consent choices, opt-out or access log for health records were found, and data runs to a ministry system.
Eight rights, against Sudan, Guinea-Bissau, Libya and the EU
| Patient access to the full record20% | 18 | 22 · 20 · 20 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patient control and consent20% | 22 | 22 · 20 · 22 | |
| Privacy and security15% | 25 | 20 · 22 · 25 | |
| Connected care journey15% | 20 | 18 · 20 · 18 | |
| Protection from commercial use10% | 25 | 20 · 20 · 25 | |
| Clinician access at the point of care10% | 15 | 15 · 15 · 17 | |
| Research and trial consent5% | 43 | 46 · 43 · 46 | |
| Clinical AI governance5% | 18 | 25 · 15 · 25 |
Black dot: Eritrea. Hollow dots: Sudan, Guinea-Bissau, Libya (scores on the right, same order). Grey line: median of all 196 countries. Dashed teal line: EU median. Overall: Eritrea 22, EU median 61. Scores move in steps of about 5; read the rank with its likely range.
What would Eritrea need to change to score higher?
Eritrea sits in Poor (0 to 24); Weak starts at 25. The two rights furthest below the 196-country median, weighted, are patient access to the full record (18, median 43) and privacy and security (25, median 45). The published rubric reads:
- Patient access to the full record: A national portal showing at least part of the record (summary, prescriptions, labs) to most residents puts access at 60 to 75; a near-full record with export, long history and majority use, 76 to 90.
- Privacy and security: Health-sector enforcement on the record: an independent regulator deciding health-data cases, breach notification and penalties applied.
Which laws give health record rights in Eritrea?
- Penal Code of the State of Eritrea (2015): Article 145: medical professionals revealing secrets face one to three years; computer misuse is an offence.
- Civil Code of the State of Eritrea (2015): Right to refuse treatment, professional secrecy (Article 23), image rights, medical contract rules.
- Constitution of Eritrea (ratified, not in force) (1997): Article 18 right to privacy; ratified in 1997 but never brought into effect.
Strain and split context, not scored
- Doctors per 10,000
- 0.9 2023
- Nurses and midwives per 10,000
- 15.2 2023
- Private insurance + out-of-pocket
- unknown
- Record reaches private care?
- unknown
Published stories
- none published in the last two years
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