COVID-19 and pastoralists in Eastern Africa

Several papers, statements and blogs are appearing about the effects of the coronavirus and especially of the associated lockdown measures of governments in Eastern Africa on the lives and livelihoods of pastoralists – but also lessons for dealing with coronavirus uncertainties that can be learnt from pastoralists. Some of these publications can be found below.

In addition, the global Food Security Cluster Technical Working Group on COVID-19, of which LEGS (Livestock Emergency Guidelines & Standards) is a member, has produced this document on livestock and  COVID-19: Guidance for emergency livestock actions in the context of COVID-19: Addressing emerging needs related to the pandemic and reprogramming ongoing critical activities. The document seeks to provide guidance to all partners and stakeholders, including governments and players along the livestock value chain, in contexts already experiencing or at risk of high levels of acute food insecurity in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. To download the guidance, click here.

• The impacts of Covid-19 on cattle traders and their response in agro-pastoral and pastoral regions in Uganda: a case of Karamoja and Teso cattle traders by John Ilukor et al, published in Pastoralism 12: 18 (14 April 2022)
• Impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on food security among East and West African pastoralists by Evan Griffiths et al, published in Advances in Food Security and Sustainability (Sept 2021)
• Pastoralist-to-Pastoralist International Virtual Forum on Covid-19, featuring pastoralists from Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia & Tanzania facilitated by Troy Sternberg, Joana Roque de Pinho, Angela Kronenburg (19 April 2021)
• COVID-19 resilience in Mongolian pastoralist communities by Troy Sternberg et al, published in Nomadic Peoples 25 (1): 141-147 (Jan 2021) – not from Eastern Africa but indicating resilience of pastoralists that may be found also in Africa – if studied ….
• Lives worth living: educating Ethiopia’s Somali pastoralists by Abdirazak Haybe, e-article published by UKFIET (16 Dec 2020) focuses on how Covid-19 exacerbated the challenges that Somali pastoralist children were already facing with respect to accessing formal education
• COVID-19, livestock and livelihoods: a discussion paper for the Livestock Emergency Guidelines and Standards (LEGS) by Andy Catley (December 2020)
• COVID-19 and pastoralism: reflections from three continents (including cases from Ethiopia & Kenya), blog by Giulia Simula et al., PASTRES project, based on 14-page paper (available here) in “Grassroots Voices” section of The Journal of Peasant Studies (27 November 2020) – see also “Pastoralist innovation in the face of COVID-19“
• Covid-19 and livestock development in Ethiopia: enhancing national responses, ILRI news by Beamlak Tesfaye (12 November 2020)
• COVID-19 in pastoral contexts in the Greater Horn of Africa: implications and recommendations, paper by Evan Griffith et al., published in Pastoralism 10, 22 (13 October 2020)
• COVID-19 & livestock market systems: the impact of COVID-19 on livestock-based economies in the Horn of Africa, by Mercy Corps (August 2020) 14pp
• Economic impact of COVID-19 in the Somali Region of Ethiopia: assessment and recommendations, by Mercy Corps (June 2020), 38pp
• Somalia will lose $500 million this year as its livestock misses out on Hajj to Saudi Arabia, blog by Abdullahi Yussuf, Quartz Africa (29 July 2020)
• Urgent action required to prevent a major food crisis in Eastern Africa, IGAD-FAO-WFP joint statement (27 July 2020)
• Urgent support needed for pastoralist and agro-pastoralist households impacted by the desert locust crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic, statement by the Regional Desert Locust Alliance (16 July 2020)
• How are Kenyan pastoralists coping in the time of COVID-19? blog by Rahma Hassan on the PASTRES website (3 July 2020)
• After drought, Kenya’s herders hammered by coronavirus curbs, blog by Wesley Langat, Thompson Reuters Foundation (27 June 2020)
• Short report on implications of Covid-19 and emerging zoonotic infectious diseases for pastoralists and Africa, paper by Anthony Egeru et al, Makarere University, published in Pastoralism 10, 12 (9 June 2020)
• Responding to COVID-19 in South Sudan: making local knowledge count, briefing note by Nicki Kindersley et al, Rift Valley Institute (RVI) (28 May 2020)
• Pandemic poses double challenges for African pastoralists, blog by Sora Halake, VOA Horn of Africa Service (28 May 2020)
• A COVID-19 Sensitization and Awareness Campaign among Manyattas and Kraals in Karamoja, blog by the Arid Landscape Initiative (ALIN Africa) (14 May 2020)
• COVID-19 and conflict analysis in Karamoja, by USAID’s Securing Peace and Promoting Prosperity in Karamoja Activity (EKISIL) (no date)
• Effects of Covid19 on livestock sector in the IGAD region and proposed policy/operational interventions, by the IGAD Centre for Pastoral Areas and Livestock Development (ICPALD) (10 May 2020)
• A call to the EU for an adapted response to the COVID-19 pandemic in pastoral areas in Eastern Africa, by CELEP (7 May 2020)
• Covid-19 risking the livelihoods of pastoralists, blog by Patrick Obath, Kenya Markets Trust (19 April 2020)
• Addressing the double-crisis of locusts and COVID-19 in the Greater Horn of Africa, by the Regional Desert Locust Alliance (17 April 2020)
• Living with coronavirus uncertainties: four lessons from pastoralists, blog by Ian Scoones & Michele Nori, PASTRES (27 March 2020)

Posted on 20 December 2020 in CELEP Documents, News, Pastoralism, Mobility & Land Tenure, Pastoralist Livelihoods & Nutrition