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Summary: See full textEXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Since the publication of 'Towards a children's agenda: New challenges
for social development', Save the Children (SCF) has been reassessing
the impact of its work on children. While well-established SCF
activities such as support to education or health services seem to
offer obvious benefits to children, to date the links between SCF's
livestock-related work and child welfare have not been discussed in
any detail. In this Working Paper, the case of pastoralism in the
Horn of Africa is used to demonstrate fundamental relationships
between livestock rearing and the well being of children in
communities who often face extreme levels of conflict and poverty.
Literature from various sources, including SCF's own surveys,
provides substantial evidence that child health and nutrition in
pastoralist communities is intimately related to livestock ownership
or access to livestock products. In arid and semi-arid environments,
human survival is largely dependent on the capacity of livestock to
convert vegetation which is inedible by humans, into nutritious
products for people. Milk is the most important of these foods,
particularly for children, and when cereals are consumed, these are
obtained by the sale or exchange of livestock. However, livestock are
not only providers of food and income - they are also the focal point
for much social and cultural interaction, and feature strongly in
indigenous social support mechanisms. Although criticised for many
years for their apparent mismanagement of herds and natural
resources, African pastoralists are increasingly regarded as
rational, productive and highly skilled livestock keepers.
Using case studies of SCF projects in south east Ethiopia, the paper
shows how livestock projects can be developed according to local
priorities and capacity. A restocking project is described which
tries to utilise a traditional method of assisting poor people by
adapting indigenous forums and systems. An animal health project
which aims to link community-based animal health workers to private
veterinarians is also described. While much work remains to be done
in these projects, and child-specific monitoring and evaluation
systems are still being developed, there are opportunities for SCF to
gain a much better understanding of children's perceptions of the
pros and cons of livestock ownership. For example, one area of
interest is the relationship between children's herding duties which
contribute towards household food and income, and the development of
education services which recognise mobility and labour requirements
of pastoral systems. Integrated programmes, such as the SCFprogramme
in south east Ethiopia, are well placed to understand links between
livestock, child health, child nutrition and education.
The paper concludes that work in the livestock sector, particularly
community-based health (CAH) projects, can be a useful starting point
when working with pastoralists. On the one hand, CAH responds to a
locally-perceived priority and recognise indigenous skills. On the
other hand it provides a basis for discussion and learning about
issues such as social organisation, food economy, natural resource
management, and human health and education services. It is
recommended that SCF continues to develop ways of collecting child-
specific impact information which fits with its organisational aims
and identity. However, information needs should be defined in
partnership with communities during a process of shared learning and
problem solving. As pastoralists are experiencing increasing levels
of poverty, SCF should also consider whether a specific strategy for
working with pastoralists is needed and if so, how its current
expertise in sectors such as food security, health and education
might be blended with local institution-building and livestock work.
In addition, while community-level decision-making and control of
resources are key aspects of sustainable development, SCF is also
aware that appropriate policy and legislative frameworks are requires
at national level. The organisation's long history of working with
government and lessons learned might be applied to pastoralist issues
and policy reform.
Owner: Andy Catley