Afar Pastoralists Research Articles

Women's contributions versus Men's patriarchal status among Afar pastoralists in the Lower Awash Valley

This study examined women's unrecognized roles in facilitating socio-economic interactions and clan networks in a patriarchal society. A qualitative research methodology was chosen. Situational observations, key interviews, and group discussions were applied as data-gathering tools. A thematic descriptive analysis method was used to examine the data that had been gathered. Accordingly, the study found that women are not participating in leading customary institutions and publicly due to the traditional patriarchal domination. However, the customary law shields women from various presumptions. It has been noted women's participation in maintaining social order, economic reciprocity, and resource sharing. Most importantly, women's continual control of household responsibilities and income-generating activities is essential to Afar society's survival. The study recommends that multifaceted interventions should be made to maintain women's role in supporting their traditional methods of engaging in maintaining clan networks. An intervention should mostly be better focused on women's activities as it will help to explore additional mechanisms that uplift either women by themselves or by the initial intervention system. Therefore, the study recommends incorporating pastoral women's roles into more extensive women's enclave empowerment policies and removing the existing sociocultural limitations to allow them to contribute more to pastoral livelihoods.

Pastoralism and Resulting Challenges for National Parks in Afar, Ethiopia.

Pastoralists and national parks are key stakeholders in the management and conservation of natural and protected habitats. In Ethiopia, Afar pastoralists migrate seasonally with their livestock in search for grazing and water areas. Livestock are also a source of infectious diseases that can spread into wildlife populations when pastoralists encroach into unfenced national parks. The interactions between pastoralists and national parks, as well as the subsequent impacts, remain insufficiently understood in Afar. Two structured questionnaire surveys were conducted in 2021, including 300 pastoralist households in seven woredas of Afar, and 58 staff from three national parks (Awash, Alidegi and Yangudi Rassa). They captured pastoralist movements and livestock diseases as well as the perception of national park staff regarding challenges resulting from pastoral encroachment into parks. Among the pastoralists, 74.7% migrated with their livestock for a mean 3.5months per year, during which time, 90% of respondents reported contact with other livestock herds, and over 80% with wildlife. A third (34.2%) reported disease outbreaks in their village prior to migration. Pastoralists traveled long distances, crossing woreda, regional or national boundaries. All 58-park respondents reported pastoralists with livestock inside their park and their close contact with wildlife. Additionally, 69% reported the presence of domestic dogs. Wildlife displacement, habitat loss and dog attacks on wildlife were perceived as the main threat caused by the presence of pastoralists, whereas diseases were only mentioned by 15.5%. Overall, park staff showed poor disease knowledge. They reported poor disease surveillance and no disease response. Within pastoral contexts, improved collaboration between wildlife and livestock authorities regarding land use, disease awareness and surveillance is needed to balance the needs of both wildlife and pastoralist's livestock development and mitigate threats to wildlife habitats.

Sexual and reproductive health services use among adolescents in pastoralist settings, northeastern Ethiopia

BackgroundAdolescents have special sexual and reproductive health (ASRH) needs and are susceptible to poor health outcomes. The global burden of ill sexual health includes a significant proportion of Adolescents. The existing ASRH services in Ethiopia and particularly in the Afar region are currently not well suited to meet the needs of pastoralist adolescents. This study assesses the level of ASRH service utilization among pastoralists in Afar regional state, Ethiopia.MethodA community based cross-sectional study was conducted from January to March 2021 in four randomly chosen pastoralist villages or kebeles of Afar, Ethiopia. A multistage cluster sampling procedure was used to select 766 volunteer adolescents aged 10–19. SRH services uptake was measured asking whether they had used any SRH service components during the last year. Data was collected through face-to-face interviews with a structured questionnaire; data entry was done with Epi info 3.5.1. Logistic regression analyses was used to assess associations with SRH service uptake. SPSS version 23 statistical software package was used for advanced logistic regression analyses to assess the associations between dependent and predictor variables.ResultsThe study revealed that two-thirds or 513 (67%) of the respondents are aware of ASRH services. However, only one-fourth (24.5%) of the enrolled adolescents used at least one ASRH service in the past twelve months. ASRH services utilization was significantly associated with gender (being female [AOR = 1.87 (CI 1.29–2.70)], being in school [AOR = 2.38(CI: 1.05–5.41), better family income [AOR = 10.92 (CI; 7.10–16.80)], prior discussions of ASRH issues [AOR = 4.53(CI: 2.52, 8.16)], prior sexual exposure [AOR = 4.75(CI: 1.35–16.70)], and being aware of ASRH services [AOR = 1.96 (CI: 1.02–3.822)]. Being pastoralist, religious and cultural restrictions, fear of it becoming known by parents, services not being available, income, and lack of knowledge were found to deter ASRH service uptake.ConclusionAddressing ASRH needs of pastoralist adolescents is more urgent than ever, sexual health problems are increasing where these groups face broad hurdles to SRH service uptake. Although Ethiopian national policy has created an enabling environment for ASRH, multiple implementation issues require special attention to such neglected groups. “Gender-culture-context-appropriate” interventions are favorable to identify and meet the diverse needs of Afar pastoralist adolescents. Afar regional education bureau and concerned stakeholders need to improve adolescent education to overcome social barriers (e.g. humiliation, disgrace, and deterring gender norms) against ASRH services through community outreach programs. In addition, economic empowerment, peer education, adolescent counseling, and parent-youth communication will help address sensitive ASRH issues.

A History of the Pastoral Way of Life in the Awash Valley, Ethiopia

The main objective of this seminar paper is to explore pastoral way of life in the Awash Valley. It is well known that pastoralism is a way of life mostly found in Africa that is based on raising livestock and using mobility as a fundamental technique for livelihood development and risk management system. In Ethiopia, there are a total of twenty nine pastoralist group. Yet, this seminar paper focuses on Debne Afar, the Karrayu, Arsi, Ittu, Jile, and Issa-Somali, the six pastoralist groups traditionally inhabiting on the Awash valley. Many research studies are conducted around pastoralism in Ethiopia by depending and explaining on the conflict between pastoralists, economic activities, and those prone to drought. However, the present seminar paper wants to fill a gap in providing a detailed examination with historic narratives available documents on the way of life and interaction of pastoralists in the Awash valley, conflict and traditional resolution mechanisms, government policy towards pastoralists, assess drought and traditional mitigation measures, which are the main focus of this paper. The survey of literature is restricted to the published secondary materials of books, reputable with peer reviewed journals, articles and unpublished materials of report, MA thesis and PhD dissertations that have been available to this writer to date. In conclusion, there are certain aspects of the pastoralist way of life that lessons can be drawn from their practices, unlike other pastoralist groups. Afar was able to found an organized local state of Aussa in 1577 AD under the leadership of Mohammed Jassa around Awash valley, still local clan leaders continued old administrative functions. The Karrayu pastoralists also began to intermingle and intermarry with Ittu pastoralist communities in the study area for a long period of time. There are a number of frequent conflicts in pastoral communities. However, the major conflicts are Afar agains. Karrayu and Afar fight Issa-Somali clan was dominant ones. vis-à-vis of their conflict most pastoralists in the Awash valley in thier long history have been able developed traditional conflict resolution mechanisms such as the Ittu Oromo have had belief systems known as Abarsa and Kakku, the unwritten rangeland pastoral law of the Issa–Somalia clan, also known as Heer Issa, and the Afar pastoralists also have a strong traditional clan leader named Finna.

Water and Emotion: Testing a New Approach for Monitoring Water Security Among Afar Pastoralists in Ethiopia

Ethiopia has over 12 million pastoralists that raise livestock and move their herds in search of fresh pasture and water. This way of life is especially vulnerable to climate change as drought and shifts in seasonal rainfall patterns are changing the distribution and availability of these resources in pastoralist regions. The dynamic use of water within these settings is also not well-understood or captured by conventional water sector monitoring systems, which prevents appropriate supportive interventions and policies to be delivered. This paper presents results from a study into a new approach to measuring water security that focuses on assessing the emotional response of pastoralist populations to their water security situation. Formative research involving focus groups and interviews was followed by a survey of 148 pastoralists to assess their emotional response to different water security dimensions. The results indicate that emotional response can be used to elicit valuable insights into water security and provide a powerful complement to conventional water security monitoring techniques. Using the approach, we show a strong relationship between variation in seasonal water access and reported emotional response. Negative emotions also strongly associate with the most laborious methods of collecting water such as scoop holes and hand dug wells, whereas positive emotions were associated with access to higher quantities of water. Access to equines for carrying water was associated with more positive emotional well-being indicating a route to water security improvement in this context could be through the provision of donkeys and mules for water carrying. The paper discusses the value of using an emotion-based approach to capture experiences of water security alongside more conventional objective measures, especially among populations with water use patterns that continue to be poorly understood.

Determinants of Pastoralists Participation in Alternative Livelihoods: The Case of Amibara Woreda of Afar Region

Afar Regional State is the fourth largest region (99,646.54 km2 area) in Ethiopia, located in the northeastern part of the country. It shares boundaries with Tigray, Amhara, Oromia, and Ethio-Somali Regions of Ethiopia and also borders Djibouti and Eritrea (Afar Regional Atlas . 2014 ). Most of Afar Region has a harsh and dry landscape largely covered by desert scrubland. The entire region of Afar is classified under Pastoral and Agro-pastoralist production system. About 7.0% of the total area of the region is suitable for crop production; and 22.4% of the total area of the region could be developed for agricultural activity Afar land use policy 2008 . The Afar economy is poorly diversified and not well integrated with the market. Afar pastoralists have witnessed the growing concern over extreme vulnerability and declining change in the traditional livelihood system (Tufts 2019 ). This is mainly due to multifaceted driving forces of change such as declining access to traditional land, demographic and policy changes, extreme climate events, market and other drivers. Among others, climate change posed a huge challenge; the most noticed variables are distributions and inconstancy of rain fall (Shekuru et al. , 2020 ), increased temperatures and recurrent prolonged droughts (Fekadu, 2015 ;). These aggravated stock loss and impoverishment, food insecurity and conflict. The Afars are highly pastoralists and have access to few alternative economic activities, although rangeland resources contribute to the traditional activities in the past to support the household during crises. However, it has been observed that pastoralists are increasingly participating in alternative livelihoods to adapt to the changes. Dependence on alternative livelihoods has shown growing trends (Tufts 2019 ) and while livestock ownership often concentrated among wealthier households (Catley 2017 ). The Alternative livelihood included in this study are activities which are relatively in safe working environment, and takes place without harmful social or environmental consequences and include certain types of business development for those with access to capital or credit and related employment (Little 2016). The rising concern over food and livelihood security in the Afar region, government and development partners are promoting alternative livelihoods. The government Pastoral Development Policy 2018 is aimed at enhancing alternative livelihood as one of the paths for pastoralist development. Further, although a number studies were done in different corner on the alternative livelihood in pastoral areas. Few literatures are available on determinates of participation in alternative livelihoods; and, few information is available and no works had been done so far at the study area. Moreover, by examining the participation of pastoralist in alternative livelihood provide clear information on improving the enabling environment to alternative livelihood development through improvement skill training finance, business and entrepreneurship and technical support. Due to the above-mentioned facts, this study focused on assessing determinants of participation in alternative livelihood and pastoralists’ perception towards alternative livelihoods. The objective of this paper is to examine the determinants of participating in to alternative livelihoods and analyzing the perception of pastoralist on alternative livelihoods. DOI: 10.7176/JPID/61-01 Publication date: January 31 st 2022

Identification and Documentation of Ethno-veterinary Remedies Used by Afar Pastoralists for the Treatment of Camel Diseases in Ethiopia

Background: Ethnoveterinary medicine is a scientific term for traditional animal health care that encompasses knowledge, belief, practice and skill of the community used for curing diseases and maintaining health of animals. A cross-sectional study was conducted using semi-structured questionnaires from September 2016 to August 2017 to gather information on the knowledge, practice and skill of the pastoralists and traditional healers about the importance and application of Ethno-veterinary medicine. Moreover, this study was conducted with the objectives of identification and documentation of major ethno-veterinary medicinal plants commonly used to treat camel aliments in Afar region. Result: A total of 146 traditional healers and pastoralists were interviewed for baseline and reliable information about Ethno-veterinary medicinal practice in Afar region. Accordingly, 99.3% of the respondents were men in which 66.44% of them were in the age range of 45-60. Majorities (76.02%) of the information’s concerning EVM were obtained from the elders among which 84.93% responded that the overall EVM practice and status in pastoral society of Afar is decreasing. A total of 710 plant species supposed to have medicinal property were recommended by pastoralists to be used for the treatment of 49 different animal diseases. Among 64 plants specimen collected, Balanites aegyptia, Cissus rotundifolia (Forssk.) Vahl, Cadaba rotundifolia Forssk, Solanum sp, Acalypha indica L and Tamarix aphylla (L.) Karsts were the commonly used plant species with high fidelity value. Concerned with plant parts used, leaf (20.5%) was the most frequently used plant parts followed by root (19.4%), fruit (14.4%), seed (10.8%) and entire plant (8.8%). These herbal remedies were administered orally, nasally, ocular and topically. Conclusion: pastoralists and traditional healers in Afar region have immense indigenous knowledge and practices of treating sick animals which should be supported by scientific techniques for analyzing the active ingredients contained in each plant species and for evaluating the safety, efficacy and dosage of the commonly used medicinal plants. In addition, on station establishment of commonly used medicinal plant nursery for conservation purpose and to conduct in-depth phytochemical analysis is paramount important.

Transhumant Domicile and Educational Service Delivery for Pastoralist Afars Children in Ethiopia-Implications for Mobility Mapping

The aim of this study is to investigate the rationale for the seasonality of mobility, division of labor and organizations, and the availability of educational services in their routes and mobility corridors. It further looks for the convenience of the education service delivery to the mobile way of life and pastoralist livelihoods of Afar pastoralists and its implications for the need to have mobility mapping for effective delivery so as achieve educational equity. Hence, it follows a qualitative exploratory design so as to investigate the existing facts on the mobility of pastoralists’ Afars. The qualitative data was gathered from purposively selected clan leaders. The data were categorized thematically and analysed qualitatively. The findings revealed that Afar pastoralists’ mobility is rational, systematic, and well organized through their traditional social structure with a clear division of labor. Moreover, the education service delivery modalities are not fit in to the mobile way of life in which they are not following their mobility pattern, route, and corridors. This gives the insight to have a mobility mapping for clearer information of their mobility and school mapping so as to deliver proper education and achieve educational equity.

Challenges and Opportunities of Handicraft Production Among Afar Women: The Case of Aysaita District

Diversification is a matter of survival for most poor pastoralists, where as for the relatively wealthy pastoralists it is a strategy of accumulation or investment (Fiona, 2007). Both men & women pastoralists participate in income generating activities. However, their participation in income generation activities compounded with many constraints. This article explores the major challenges and opportunities of hand craft production among Afar women pastoralists. In a general term, the study employed descriptive research design. Consequently, survey questionnaire was administered for a total of 24 women pastoralist and agro pastoralist of Berga kebele.Handicraft production is an important source of income pastoralists (especially women). However, the potential of this commercial avenue has not been fully realized. Some reasons for this include; limited market, lack of storage and production areas, shortage of finance for the purchase of quality raw materials and production equipment; and lack of skills for improved production.Traditionally, handicrafts were only produced for household use and for gifts. The community has realized that tourists and other visitors are interested in buying these items and that they can generate an income. Household items, leatherwork, carpets and ropes and traditional weaponry are popular with visitors to the region. Most of the traditional handicrafts are produced using locally available palm tree leaves. The Afar mostly use brass or bronze to create jewelry.The Regional culture and tourism bureau should arrange cultural exhibitions and promote these cultural produces at federal and international levels that increase economic incomes of households and popularize their products.All stakeholders including women and Youth bureau, cooperative offices and pastoral agriculture development bureau should work in collaboration in order to create market linkage with other traders.Research Institutions and Development agents should work closely to solve raw materials shortages and make accessible for them in their locality. In general, there should urgently need to organize the producers, establish microfinance/ rural saving and lending systems and provide training on improved production techniques and to create market channels. This will secure a more stable livelihood for the Afar people. Keywords: Afar, Pastoralism, Pastoralist Handcraft, Production, Women pastoralist DOI: 10.7176/JCSD/59-01 Publication date: May 31 st 2020

Socio-Economic Characteristics Influencing Pastoralists’ Risk Avers Attribute Using Ordered Probit Model

Supported by the Regional capital project for Afar Pastoral and Agro-Pastoral Research Institute (APARI). Abstract This research used data from 210 pastoralists and agro-pastoralists that were randomly selected from three Weredas of Afar region by following a multi-stage sampling procedure. Data were analysed using both descriptive statistical methods and econometric model. First, to assess the factors influencing the risk perception of the household regarding environment, index was developed in a Likert scale fashion and regressed to the hypothesized explanatory variables using order probit regression model. The odds ratio and marginal effects of each outcome variables were computed after estimation. The latent variable pastoralist exposure to environmental risks is increasing with age of household and education level increase. The results may suggest that the influence of significant socio-economic characteristics must be well revised to decrease the risky life of pastoralists in the study area. Keywords : Afar pastoralists, risk perception, order probit DOI: 10.7176/JESD/11-5-07 Publication date: March 31 st 2020

Achieving SDG2: Political Aspects of Pastoral Vulnerability Among the Afar in Ethiopia

Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 relates to ending hunger, achieving food security and improving nutrition, and promoting sustainable agriculture. The SDGs mention only a few political indicators and SDG2 in particular is largely devoid of political considerations to end hunger and achieve food security. Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen famously observed the absence of famine in democracies, suggesting that a democratic system provides checks and balances that prevent famine. His observation has elicited further debate and triggered empirical studies in recent years. Going beyond Sen’s hypothesis, this essay examines other political factors that would explain vulnerability to famine and that need to be addressed more explicitly in SDG 2 and similar initiatives. By taking the case of pastoralists in the Afar region of Ethiopia, this research explores selected political determinants of vulnerability to famine. The Eritrea-Ethiopia war and the ensuing border closure have had a detrimental effect on the livelihood of pastoralists in Afar – many pastoralists were deprived of a market and a reliable source of income. In addition, Afar pastoralists were sidelined from the informal salt sector on which they used to rely. The state facilitated this expropriation, leaving pastoralists even more vulnerable to famine. I argue that political considerations are crucial in successfully ending hunger and achieving food security. The essay uses a qualitative case study design and is based on a PhD dissertation.

A framework for targeting water, sanitation and hygiene interventions in pastoralist populations in the Afar region of Ethiopia.

Globally, many populations face structural and environmental barriers to access safe water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services. Among these populations are many of the 200 million pastoralists whose livelihood patterns and extreme environmental settings challenge conventional WASH programming approaches. In this paper, we studied the Afar pastoralists in Ethiopia to identify WASH interventions that can mostly alleviate public health risks, within the population's structural and environmental living constraints. Surveys were carried out with 148 individuals and observational assessments made in 12 households as part of a Pastoralist Community WASH Risk Assessment. The results show that low levels of access to infrastructure are further compounded by risky behaviours related to water containment, storage and transportation. Additional behavioural risk factors were identified related to sanitation, hygiene and animal husbandry. The Pastoralist Community WASH Risk Assessment visually interprets the seriousness of the risks against the difficulty of addressing the problem. The assessment recommends interventions on household behaviours, environmental cleanliness, water storage, treatment and hand hygiene via small-scale educational interventions. The framework provides an approach for assessing risks in other marginal populations that are poorly understood and served through conventional approaches.

Indigenous weather and climate forecasting knowledge among Afar pastoralists of north eastern Ethiopia: Role in adaptation to weather and climate variability

Traditional weather and climate forecasting is used by many indigenous communities worldwide as a guide in making important decisions that enable them cope and adapt to climate change-induced extreme weather variation. In many pastoral communities in Africa, traditional weather and climate forecasting remains the most accessible and affordable source of weather and climate information. In this study, we used individual interviews and focused group discussions to systematically document indigenous weather and climate forecasting knowledge among Afar pastoralists, with the aim of making such information available, and enhance use of this knowledge in climate change adaptation and explore synergies with modern weather forecasting system. The Afar pastoralists traditionally predict weather and climate variation through the observation of diverse bio-physical entities including livestock, insects, birds, trees and wildlife. No single indicator is taken at face value; weather forecasting is undertaken in a dynamic process where information collected from different sources, including weather information from the modern weather forecasting system, is triangulated to make the safest livelihood decisions. Before any forecasting information is used, it is evaluated through three traditional institutions that collect, share and analyse the information. These institutions include (1) the Edo or range scouting where traditional rangeland scouts are sent on a mission to assess weather and other spatially and temporally variable attributes on rangelands; (2) the Dagu, a traditional secured and reputable network, where weather information is shared among users; and (3) the Adda or the traditional Afar governance system, which analyses traditional weather information before community decisions are made. This first-time systematic documentation of indigenous weather and climate forecasting knowledge among the Afar communities demonstrated the dynamic process of indigenous weather and climate knowledge production, analysis and communication. This shows the value of indigenous knowledge in contemporary pastoral communities, while highlighting synergies with the modern weather and climate knowledge system for co-production of knowledge that serves the objectives of local people.

Vulnerability of Southern Afar pastoralists to climate variability and change, Ethiopia.

The present study was carried out in the Southern Afar region in Ethiopia to assess the vulnerability of pastoral communities to climate change and variability. A household questionnaire survey was employed to collect data at a household level. A total of 250 pastoral households were sampled using stratified random sampling. The results revealed that 28.8% of the pastoral households were highly vulnerable. Most of the households (53.6%) were moderately vulnerable. Only 17.6% of the households were capable of coping even though there would be a high probability of moving from less vulnerable to a moderate or high vulnerability level in the future if no appropriate adaptive measures would be taken by decision-makers. Policies with emphasis on empowerment of women, such as improving their access to and control over resources through a better institutional set-up; improving irrigation facilities and skills; expanding the participation of pastoral households on irrigation farming; creating opportunities for non-farm income; and improving access to credits, markets, health and veterinary services, are expected to enhance pastoralists’ resilience.Keywords: climate; irrigation; livestock; pastoralists; vulnerability.

Husbands\u2019 involvement in family planning use and its associated factors in pastoralist communities of Afar, Ethiopia

BackgroundHusbands play an influential role in women’s access to health care, such as family planning services. However, there is little evidence of the level of husbands’ involvement in family planning services among pastoralist communities, who possess a distinct lifestyle. This study was aimed to assess husbands’ involvement in family planning use and factors associated in pastoralist communities of Afar, Ethiopia.MethodsCommunity-based cross-sectional survey was conducted among randomly selected 418 married women in Afambo district, Afar pastoralist community in 2017. Data were collected using semi-structured questionnaire. Data were entered to EPI-Info version 7 statistical software programs and exported to SPSS. Descriptive and multivariable logistic regression analyses were applied to identify factors associated with husband involvement. Odds ratio at 95% confidence interval were reported and significant association of factors was declared at the p-value of less than 0.05.ResultFour hundred eighteen married women were included in the study, making a response rate of 98%. The magnitude of husbands’ involvement in family planning was found to be 42.2%. Women who ever used family planning (AOR: 7.21; 95%CI: 3.58–14.67), those who participated in community networks, those who reported health center as their source of information for family planning (AOR: 5.56; 95%CI: 1.92–16. o7) were higher likely to report husband involvement compare to their counterparts. Participants’ increased knowledge was also significantly associated with higher odds of husband involvement in family knowledge (AOR = 1.31; 95% CI: 1.16–1.58). .ConclusionHusbands’ involvement in the district is low. Women’s engagement in community networks aimed at increasing the knowledge of the women may involve in family planning. In addition, due focus among health care providers in lower health care units to provide information for both women and men might have a promising power to improve husbands involvement.

Gender exploitative and gender transformative aspects of employing Health Extension Workers under Ethiopia's Health Extension Program.

To apply a gender lens to Ethiopia's Health Extension Program and the role of Health Extension Workers (HEWs). Interviews with 45 HEWs and four focus group discussions with 14 of the same HEWS from three regions in rural Ethiopia: Afar Region; Tigray Region (Adwa Woreda); and two locations in Southern Nations, Nationalities and People's Region (Aleta Wondo Woreda and Kafa Zone). Two focus group discussions were conducted in Afar Region with 17 Women Extension Workers employed by Afar Pastoralist Development Association. Using the Gender Equality Continuum as a gender analysis tool, we found that Ethiopia's Health Extension Program is gender aware by directly linking improved health outcomes for women and their empowerment. However, for HEWs who inhabit a gendered space and place from home to district health centres, there can be unexpected consequences that accommodate existing gender inequalities, are blind to them and perhaps even generate new forms of exploitation. The Health Extension Program could have more transformative outcomes for HEWs and also for communities if changing gender norms was given more attention and constraints to gender equality were reduced. Community Health Worker (CHW) programs should focus on better understanding on the role of gender for CHWs across health systems.

Linking Social Capital and Microsavings: Lesson from Thrifty Saving Behavior of Afar Pastoralists of Ethiopia

Linking Social Capital and Microsavings: Lesson from Thrifty Saving Behavior of Afar Pastoralists of Ethiopia

Impacts of woody invasive alien plant species on rural livelihood: Generalized propensity score evidence from Prosopis spp. invasion in Afar Region in Ethiopia

This study applied a generalized propensity score method to evaluate the impact of Prosopis invasion on Afar pastoralist and agro-pastoralist households’ annual per capita consumption expenditure, as a proxy of rural livelihoods. The analysis was based on cross-sectional survey data collected in mid-2016 from 250 households in the Afar National Regional State in Ethiopia. The method was applied to match households with similar covariates with different Prosopis invasion levels. The method was effective in teasing out non-linear causal relationships between Prosopis invasion dose and household per capita consumption expenditure. Average dose-response or impact function was obtained by estimating average annual household per capita consumption expenditure at different levels of Prosopis invasion. Initially, the plants’ impact was positive, but turned negative after an optimum invasion dose. The optimal invasion dose of Prosopis was found to be 22.23%. The corresponding optimum level of annual household per capita consumption expenditure was found to be 4,500.50 Ethiopian Birr (USD 198). The results suggest that to maximize the benefits of Prosopis and minimize its adverse effects on the livelihoods of the pastoral and agro-pastoral communities, diverse management strategies that take into account not only the intensity of invasion, but also patterns of dryland economy should be implemented.

Traditional gender inequalities limit pastoral women\u2019s opportunities for adaptation to climate change: Evidence from the Afar pastoralists of Ethiopia

Climate change affects different demographic groups differently. Pastoral women, being among the poorest of the poor, are expected to be highly vulnerable to climate change. However, empirical evidence on gender-differentiated vulnerability and adaptive capacity is limited. A triangulation of different techniques including focused group discussions, individual interviews, case studies and structured observations was used to see if there is a difference in factors that determine the level of vulnerability and adaptive capacity between Afar men and women. Gender inequality inherent in the Afar customary tradition (Adda) acts as a risk multiplying factor, resulting in women being more vulnerable than men to climate change-induced food insecurity and related risks. Moreover, men have better scores in different variables determining vulnerability and adaptive capacity, including wealth ownership, wealth inheritance, household-level decision power, opportunities for community-level participation, household burdens and health or body mass index (BMI). Despite their limited scores in many of these factors, Afar pastoral women make higher contributions to household-level adaptation to recurrent drought and weather variability. A gendered approach that recognizes the difference in potentials, limitations and vulnerabilities of pastoral women and men is required for successful implementation of adaptation measures.

Taming requirements in the domestication process of donkeys: The methods and concepts of the training among the Afar pastoralists in Ethiopia

To clarify the system involved in the initial domestication of asses, this study explores breaking and the consequent establishment of tameness through focusing on a human ecological approach based on reports of the epigenetic inheritance of human-induced stress in animals. The research subjects are Afar pastoralists who use donkeys for packing loads in two areas (A and B) in the Afar Regional State of Ethiopia; both areas are home to an endangered species of wild ass. Interviews were conducted on the methods of wild ass capture that caused initial human-induced stress. Next, the method currently adopted for breaking donkeys for packing which the Afar pastoralists considered to promote tameness was investigated. The number of informants from Community (A) who answered in the negative to the possibility of capturing wild asses for domestication was significantly greater than those who replied in the positive. However, four suggestions were made for capturing wild asses for domestication. In both areas, the target age for breaking the donkeys for packing was 1 to 3 years inclusively. Differences, however, were seen between Afar communities with regard to whether training for packing should happen in a series of processes and with regard to the number of days needed for the process. The training methods characteristically used in both areas includes forelimbs tying, jaw tying, and ears tying. A combination of these methods was observed to be a neuro-physiologically effective approach, promoting obedience while controlling stress; stress caused by jaw and forelimbs tying was nullified by ears tying, which produced an analgesic effect. Therefore, for domestication during the ancient period and maintaining the tame status of donkeys, the age for training for packing and controlling stress by tying the forelimbs, jaws, and ears might have been the effective techniques in taming the animal through epigenetic mutations.