Get sick or go hungry: Afghan nomads battle against COVID-19
Since
COVID-19 hit Afghanistan in mid-March, it has posed a dreadful dilemma
for the Kuchis, who are Afghan nomads: get sick or go hungry. The Kuchis
normally make a living by herding sheep, goats and camels around the
country – but with a number of provinces under lockdown, that lifestyle
has become very difficult to maintain.
For
most people, the lockdown measures greatly reduce their exposure to the
virus. But for the Kuchis, they pose the danger of blocking their usual
trade of livestock and dairy products – and without trade, they have no
income and face a shortage of food.
The
Kuchis are among the poorest and most marginalized groups in
Afghanistan. For centuries, they have led a nomadic life. But decades of
conflict, drought and the degradation of grazing areas have damaged
their livelihoods. Today, more than a third of the 1.5 million Kuchis
face food insecurity.
“The
closure of the markets and shops due to the imposed lockdown have
heavily impacted the Kuchi community,” says Candra Samekto, Country
Director for Afghanistan at the International Fund for Agricultural
Development (IFAD). ”Kuchis cannot not sell their livestock and dairy
products, and when they manage to sell some animals locally, it is at a
much lower price than usual.” For example, in the Nangarhar and Logar areas, Kuchis are getting 40 per cent less per lamb compared to before the pandemic.
Since COVID-19 struck, IFAD and the Afghan Government have been helping Kuchis through the ongoing Community, Livestock and Agriculture Project (CLAP). Its activities targeting Kuchis are implemented by the Dutch Committee for Afghanistan (DCA).
“First
of all, it was crucial to inform the Kuchis of the virus and explain
how they can protect [themselves],” says Samekto. “But they are not easy
to reach; they live in remote areas where digital infrastructures are
weak, and the vast majority of them are illiterate.”
Since
2015, CLAP has established 52 veterinary field units and trained 100
Kuchis to become para-veterinarians and basic veterinarian workers. More
than 400 para-veterinarians have also received refresher training. They
now provide vaccinations, deworming and medical treatment for the
Kuchis’ small ruminants in seven provinces of the country. Animal health
has improved, and mortality rates have dropped from 15 to 6.2 per cent.
This has led to a 50 per cent increase in milk production and a 24 per
cent increase in herders’ incomes.
With
the advent of COVID-19, IFAD and its partners decided to build on this
solid network of professionals in mounting a response. About 160 of
these field unit staff were trained in awareness campaigns and then
alerted Kuchi communities about the virus and informed them of
protection measures, including through brochures with pictures so that
they could be readily understood.
In addition, hygiene and health safety kits including masks and soaps were distributed to 48,000 households.
“The
soap and mask have helped us prevent the spread of the disease,” says
Mir Baaz, a Kuchi herder. “How would we have got information on the
disease? We don’t have TVs, we don’t even have power.”
Over
the years, CLAP had brought about other improvements that turned out to
be useful when the pandemic started. In particular, herders had been
able to shift their milk production to products such as gurrot,
a soft cheese, and ghee, a clarified butter that keeps for long periods
of time and therefore can be kept for sale later at a higher price.
Prior
to COVID-19, herders had been trained in milk processing, and had
received churning and filtration machines and drying boxes. This has
enabled them to prepare dried dairy products that can fetch double the
price compared to milk.
Despite
the resilience the project has been able to build, Kuchis will
nonetheless need more support in the immediate future as the virus
continues spreading in the country.
The
recent reopening of the main markets may offer some relief. However,
food prices have also gone up significantly in the last months. The
price of wheat flour increased by 18 per cent between March and June, while the costs of pulses, sugar and rice increased by 22 per cent to as much as 37 per cent.
Without
assistance, the Kuchis might be forced to take actions that will set
back their development. “One concern is that Kuchis sell their
productive assets and livestock to cope now and cannot recover after the
pandemic,” explains Samekto. “We are exploring additional measures to help them and we need funding.”
The
Kuchis are not alone. Millions of small-scale farmers and livestock
keepers around the world are being impacted by the lockdown measures.
This past April, IFAD launched an urgent appeal for funding to help the
most vulnerable people through its Rural Poor Stimulus Facility. This facility helps
rural communities continue growing and selling food despite the
pandemic, and in particular ensures access to inputs, information,
markets and liquidity, so that poor people across the world do not have
to face a choice like getting sick or going hungry.
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