Research, Policy and Practice
Table 6 Existing gender dynamics amongst pastoralists with predicted impacts of COVID-19 (Flintan 2008; Kristjanson et al. 2014)
From: COVID-19 in pastoral contexts in the greater Horn of Africa: Implications and recommendations
Gender category | Existing gender dynamics | Impacts of COVID-19 |
|---|---|---|
Men | • Traditional rights and ownership over livestock (variation due to local context) • Livestock management (e.g. purchasing, sale, disposal, or change) • Herding and grazing • Diagnosis and choice of treatment (ethno-veterinary knowledge) | • Increased risk of mortality • Men may need to take over food provision and livestock management activities generally carried out by women • More power for women to make decisions can threaten men who can feel marginalized |
Women | • Give approval to livestock management activities • Managing and caring for animals near the household • Milking animals and deciding how much milk will be allocated for home consumption versus sale • Small ruminant ethno-veterinary knowledge | • Less access to healthcare with potentially worse COVID-19 health outcomes than men and boys • Women may need to take over herding and grazing responsibilities and act as the “head of the household” • Decreased ability to provide food due to limited market access and decreased ability to sell animal products • Increased work gathering wild foods to supplement nutrition • Increased work and risk of morbidity taking care of sick family and community members |