Adapted from a presentation by Colleen Walton - FHF Gender Responsive One Health - KENYA PROJECT MANAGER
The Gender Responsive One Health project’s ultimate outcome is improved community health and equitable One Health empowerment for poor, marginalized and Indigenous women and girls in Meru County, Kenya. Meru has a high prevalence of diseases that can be transmitted to humans from animals, such as rabies and anthrax. This project will work at the community level and with government officials and staff of Meru County and its sub counties.
The 4-year project is funded by Global Affairs Canada in a contribution agreement with Alinea International. The project will operate in Ethiopia and Kenya; Farmers Helping Farmers is the implementing Partner in Kenya. Other collaborators include the University of Prince Edward Island and University of Calgary. The project began with an inception mission in November 2023 and staff were hired on this project In April 2024.
One Health is an approach to health that recognizes and promotes collaboration among animal, human and environmental sectors to address concerns. Gender responsive recognizes that health risks differ between women, men, girls and boys because of traditional gender roles.
Gender and zoonotic disease risk and health
To promote greater gender equity, as part of the project we will examine the many activities in raising livestock. Who is performing which roles? Who is at high risk of zoonotic disease? How to ensure all people are aware of and can access and use the best methods to reduce risk?
The work of FHF staff and volunteers will continue to empower women farmers through training and demonstrations to enhance dairy and poultry production and work with groups to support and promote business planning and entrepreneurship. Gender-role awareness will be integrated into all project activities in efforts toward greater equity in a family’s financial and health decision making and benefit sharing. Change at the community level is needed to ensure a sustainable approach to prevention and control of diseases of animal origin (zoonotic diseases), and improve one health systems to detect, control and prevent transmission of zoonotic diseases at the community and county levels.
Benefits for Community & County are envisioned.
Existing partner groups, dairy, women’s groups and schools, will benefit from knowledge, skills and supports for disease prevention and livestock raising. With time new partner groups will participate and broad public-messaging of Gender Responsive One Health information will be delivered.
Efforts to support county officials to create and start-up a One Health Unit and strategy are envisioned to accelerate broader adoption of preventive and protective practices. For example, FHF staff and volunteers will work with veterinarians and paravets (animal health) and community health promoters (human health), as well as teachers and government extension officers.
The project employees include Poultry trainer (Eric), Community Nutritionist (James), Dairy trainers (Leah and Stephen Chandi), Kenyan office coordinator and business development (Salome). Added to the team are Finance and Administrative Assistant (Caroline) and Gender/Health Specialist (Sylvia). Dr. Erastus Kangethe is contracted by Alinea as a One Health Policy Analyst to support work at the county level. Future recruitments include Communications, Grazing Livestock trainer, and a driver.
Women’s and Disability self–help groups will be engaged in training and supports regarding one health, zoonotic diseases, nutrition and food safety, health and antimicrobial resistance as well as entrepreneurship / business training with family-based gender balance work
Dairy Clubs (women and men) will be established and trained on good management for animal health and milk production. The training program will be enhanced to include biosecurity, zoonotic disease prevention, antimicrobial resistance and gender-focused messages to reduce risk of diseases.
Poultry farmers will be trained on flock management, nutrition, health, disease prevention and management, biosecurity, among others, provided with start-up materials for egg production and engaged in gender-balance activities with business development in order for equitable benefit within the family from family and group enterprises.
Schools, students and teachers will benefit from efforts to strengthen school food safety, student hygiene and health, and Nutrition club and One Health food safety supports for partner schools. Trees will be planted to improve the school environment and provide fruit; this will be linked with women’s group tree nursery entrepreneurship initiatives.
To date, two unique activities have taken place, alongside the other community-based work. Community Engagement Workshops were held June 2024 with representatives from women’s groups, dairies, schools. The purposes of the workshops were to raise awareness of One Health, the gendered aspects of health as well as the GROH project. The workshop was delivered in partnership with Dr. Shauna Richards, ILRI (International Livestock Research Institute), and COHESA (Capacitating One Health in South and East Africa). Shauna is an AVC graduate and has volunteered with FHF. Presentations and activities created greater awareness of One Health, zoonotic diseases and antimicrobial resistance, food safety, gender and health risk. Rabies and anthrax were priority zoonotic diseases identified by the groups.
In July 2024 a Paravet Practical Training Pilot Program was delivered by Dr. John VanLeeuwen. Local paravets were invited to participate in the training. Delivered over 5-days, training topics included a One Health Overview, animal health conditions and systematic history-taking, systematic physical exams, disease diagnosis and treatment, reproduction, production medicine, cow comfort and mastitis treatment and control.
Participants gained significant hands-on practice working a walk-in Clinic where they dewormed, vaccinated, examined clinical cases and guided farmers on herd health. This is a first step to a continued-professional-development program for Meru County paravets.
There are many new aspects to this 4-year project which will challenge FHF staff and volunteers, promise to positively impact the farm families in the short and longer term and support the county to effectively manage zoonotic diseases using a One Health approach.