Preliminary Perspectives on the Health Needs of Pastoral Women on the Borana Plateau Using Participatory Approaches

Since 2000, the PARIMA project has conducted participatory research and outreach among pastoralists in southern Ethiopia. This has led to notable achievements in terms of forming collective-action groups dominated by women, stimulation of sustainable micro-finance and micro-enterprise activities, and improving linkages of pastoral producers to livestock markets. Despite such gains, there are many other challenges to be addressed. One is poor human health. PARIMA researchers used participatory and qualitative methods to conduct a preliminary assessment of women’s health problems among members of six, well-established collective-action groups from the Borana and Gugi zones in the Oromia Regional State during 2008. Conventional wisdom from local public-health authorities suggested that malaria and diarrhea would be the most common ailments in the area. Results, however, indicated that women are most concerned with challenges related to their reproductive health (pregnancy-related problems, sexually transmitted diseases, etc.) Community-action plans have been developed for implementation and include prioritizing attention to training skilled local birth attendants and investing in awareness-raising, prevention, and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases. Improved health could have major effects on the welfare of pastoral women and the economic performance of collective-action groups