Many of our activities are aimed specifically at women – among other things, they aim to strengthen the role of women in society. In South Sudan, for example, we are working with local communities to show them the positive aspects of giving women a more active role in livestock keeping.
A special group of women are the female Community Animal Health Workers (CAHWs). They volunteered to be trained in animal health services and, once qualified, have been instrumental in the successful roll-out of community level vaccination and treatment of poultry and small ruminants. Through this work the ‘women vets’ as they are fondly referred to, have been able to earn an income and support their families. Interestingly, most livestock keepers in their community prefer the ‘women vets’ to their counterpart male CAHWs because of the effective and comprehensive way in which they perform their tasks. The social status of this group of women has increased drastically.
In the photos you can get a glimpse of what such a training session for female CAHWs looks like. This training was part of our CCLERP project in collaboration with VSF Germany and funded by USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance.
