Contact Person: Valerie Hungerbühler
Duration: March - October 2023
Women are key economic actors in pastoralist communities and share equal household responsibilities with men, such as managing livestock and grazing resources. Both men and women contribute to animal health management, although in different roles. Often it is the women who take care of sick animals, while the men herd the animals on pastures. Women do not have direct access to animal health products and services and have limited decision-making power in this regard. This could be perceived as a constraint as women are the main health care providers.
The aim of this study is to describe the role of women in animal health management and to explore how efforts to empower women are perceived by different stakeholders.
We plan to conduct this study in the Somali region, a state in eastern Ethiopia, under the leadership of Vétérinaires Sans Frontières Suisse. With this project, we will be able to make recommendations to local veterinary services and international development organisations on how to improve their collaboration with and empowerment of women in animal health management in African pastoralist communities.
