Advancing women's participation in livestock vaccine value chains
Brian Sokol
Small species of ruminants (sheep and goats) and poultry provide key benefits to women in many developing countries as sources of income, food security, and prestige. Many of the fatal livestock diseases that affect these animals, such as Newcastle Disease (ND) in poultry and peste des petits ruminants (PPR) in small ruminants, are vaccine-preventable. However, these diseases still cause high levels of morbidity and mortality because of limited knowledge of available vaccines and logistical and social constraints, including gender inequalities that limit women’s uptake of vaccines.
Gendered roles in livestock vaccine value chains
Women have less access than men to key inputs in livestock value chains, such as vaccines, and they have limited ability to influence decision-making in their household around vaccination and animal health. There is a distinct knowledge gap regarding the roles of men and women in livestock vaccine value chains, and of the compounding social, economic, and institutional factors that influence women’s ability to participate in livestock vaccine value chains and benefit from them. This project aims to contribute to filling this knowledge gap by examining gendered roles and relations in selected poultry and small ruminant value chains in Nepal, Senegal, and Uganda.
A gendered intersectional transformative approach
Researchers will address issues of intersectionality on women’s involvement in the livestock vaccine distribution chain and provide capacity development by applying a gendered intersectional transformative approach. A gender and intersectional mapping tool will be developed for small ruminant and poultry vaccine distribution chains and a multi-country analysis will assess the impacts and barriers of gender and intersectionality on women’s entry, effective participation, and benefits from the vaccine distribution chain.
Expected results
The key outcome from this project will be the increased use of livestock vaccines by women by increasing the delivery of vaccine services. The project will make an important contribution to expanding knowledge of the roles of gender and intersectionality in increasing equitable access to and control over resources in the vaccine distribution chains. It will improve the capacity of vaccine service providers to expand vaccine campaigns by increasing their awareness of men’s and women’s distinct roles in vaccine distribution chains.
Lead institution
This project will be led by The University of Florida in the United States.
- Duration: 36 months
- Budget: CA$1.56 million