Research, Policy and Practice
From: COVID-19 in pastoral contexts in the greater Horn of Africa: Implications and recommendations
COVID-19 impacts | Compounding/interacting factor | Implications | Recommendations |
---|---|---|---|
Direct mortality and morbidity | • Comorbidities (e.g. tuberculosis) • Conflict and raiding | • Increased morbidity and disease severity • Increased risk of transmission | • COHTs • Contextualized PRRAs (Table 4) • Community-based peace efforts, in concert with resilience building and COVID-19 response |
Reduced access to pastoral areas | Desert locusts | • Decreased ability to implement locust control measures • Personal protective equipment limitations • Loss of pasture and crops • Decreased ability to deliver emergency services | • Designate locust control, surveillance, and response activities as essential services, and equipment and supplies as essential goods • Coordinate local, national, and regional COVID-19 and locust control activities • Implement locust surveillance and control activities while adhering to PHMs |
Human/livestock/zoonotic disease | • Less ability to prevent and control disease • Negative impact on human health • Negative impact on animal health • Reduced income due to lower market prices for sick animals, quarantines and loss of public trust | • Continued animal health measures implemented through One Health coordination structures while adhering to COVID-19 PHMs • CAHWs on COHTs provide animal health support in addition to COVID-19 activities while adhering to PHMs • Voucher-based programmes for animal health services | |
Floods, drought | • Cannot deliver emergency support | • Designate disaster relief as essential • Implement activities while adhering to PHMs | |
Reduced mobility (daily grazing, migration) | • Limited land access (e.g. development displacement) • Drought/flooding • Desert locusts | • Increase pressure on rangelands • Negatively impacts livestock health and productivity • Decreased access to resource contributes to conflict | • Identify local mobility norms through community engagement and research (e.g. participatory rangeland management) • COHTs emphasize PHMs at pastoral toponymies • Direct support, such as livestock fodder as needed • Destocking |
Reduced access to markets | • Limited market access (e.g. distance to markets) • Livestock disease (market closures) | • Cannot sell livestock products or buy food (e.g. grain) and other essential items | • Keep markets open while implementing PHMs (Table 4) • Harvest natural foods • Food aid • Alternative livelihood development • Traditional methods of preserving livestock products • Selective destocking • Mobile abattoirs • Remote livestock sales using mobile phones |