ID-135
Inadequate access to safe water for livestock and people in Ethiopian
rural settings: implications for health
Kebede Amenu*, André Markemann, Regina Rößler, Marianna Siegmund-Schultze, Anne Valle Zárate
Institute of Animal Production in the Tropics and Subtropics, University of Hohenheim, Garbenstrasse 17, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany
*E-mail: kamenu@gmail.com
Introduction
• Water scarcity is one of the critical problems threatening the well-being of most of the developing
world’s population in general and the rural community in particular (UN-Water, 2007).
• Population growth, environmental pollution and climate change are imposing negative impacts on
the quantity and quality of fresh water available for different activities (Malley et al., 2009).
• Access to safe and adequate amount of water for both people and livestock is an important aspect in
rural farming communities (WHO/UNICEF, 2006; Schlink et al., 2010).
• In this respect, the objective of the present study was to assess the sources, quality and accessibility
of water for livestock and people as perceived by farmers.
Material and methods Figure 1. Location of the study areas
• Study area: two districts located in the Ethiopian Rift Valley (Figure 1)
– Lume (between 8° 12‘ to 8° 50‘ N latitude and 39° 01‘ to 39° 17‘ E longitude)
– Siraro (between 6° 59‘ to 7° 16‘ N latitude and 38° 05‘ to 38° 22‘ East longitude)
–The production systems of the two districts are characterized by mixed crop-livestock.
• Questionnaire survey and focus group discussion (July-August, 2010)
– face-to-face interviews with 320 persons from randomly selected livestock keeping families
– 16 focus group discussions were held with farmers
• One year secondary health data from human clinics of respective districts (July 2009
to June 2010) were collected for assessment of water-associated diseases.
• Data analysis:
–Descriptive statistics were calculated for questionnaire data.
–Problem trees (or: Flowcharts) were developed, which visualise issues of access to and
quality of water and related health implications of people and livestock (Figures 2 & 3).
Water scarcity Water from River water pollution from
for livestock borehole is industries (tanneries,
during dry expensive to afford abattoirs, floriculture) and
season for livestock domestic effluents
Livestock grazing near
Frequent dysfunctionality
Remoteness of improved water water bodies for long
of improved water sources
sources from homestead duration
Less water intake Bad odour (water Chemicals
is less palatable) from factory
High fluoride content of
Mothers travel long distances to fetch Resort to low quality water sources well water ?
good quality water (River, Pond) High prevalence of
Loss in production
fasciolosis (‘Lukkoo’)
(e.g., milk, weight) Water related livestock
Less amount of water for
domestic use Tooth mottling and skeletal morbidity/mortality
Low hygiene fluorosis
Water-borne Grazing on land
diseases
from which
Less time for
Water-washed Prolonged water Water water retreated
childcare
diseases Traditional uncovered deprivation toxicosis
ponds
Human morbidity/mortality
Access to Flooding of grazing land
Sudden access to during rainy season
stagnant water
Potential sites for water sources
insect vector
Flu-like respiratory multiplication
diseases
Water-related vector-borne
diseases
Bad odour from
pond
Figure 3: Livestock access to water and related health problems perceived by farmers
Figure 2: People’s access to water and related health problems perceived by farmers
Results Conclusions
• Various alternative water sources (e.g., rivers, lakes, hand-dug wells, stand pipe boreholes, springs and • The study revealed that access to safe water is limited,
ponds) were utilised by people and livestock in Lume. posing a potential risk to human and livestock health.
• Bilate River (marking the extreme south-western border of the district), was the only permanent • The health impact of water related diseases in people
surface water available in Siraro. were found to be higher in Siraro District which is a
• In Siraro, motorized boreholes were common water sources in all seasons; ponds were used during
direct implication of water scarcity (quantity and quality
wet season. wise)
• Possible intervention is sought towards better
• Only 31% and 2% of the households in Lume and Siraro districts, respectively, had access to improved
water sources (by definition which include household connections, public standpipes, boreholes, management of surface water and the improvement of
protected dug wells, protected springs, and rainwater collections) within 30 minutes round trip to fetch existing indigenous methods of rain water harvesting in
water. order to mitigate water scarcity in the areas.
• The majority of the households in Lume (60%) and Siraro (97%) districts perceived water as being
scarce for livestock and people with the peak time of scarcity to be from December to March.
• Malaria, internal parasites and diarrhoea were the first, third and fourth commonly reported diseases
in Siraro, while internal parasites were the fourth top diseases reported in Lume in people.
• Self-declared diarrhoea cases were reported by 4.4% of the respondents in Lume and 14.4% in Siraro
six months preceding the interviews.
• Water related livestock morbidity or mortality was mentioned by 12.5% and 16.9% of the respondents
in Lume and Siraro, respectively, for a 12 months period of time preceding the questionnaire survey.
• The perceived reasons for livestock morbidity or mortality included
– access to polluted river water (a common complaint in Lume, located in the downstream of Mojo River),
– drinking stagnant water,
– sudden access to water after long deprivation and
– infection with liver fluke after grazing water-logged areas.
References: Acknowledgments
Malley Z.J.U., Taeb M., T. Matsumoto T. & Takeya H. 2009. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth 34: 3-13.
Schlink A.C., Nguyen M.-L. & Viljoen G.J. 2010. Scientific and Technical Review of the Office International des Epizooties 29: 603-619. The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) is acknowledged for funding the research and offering
UN-Water. 2007. Coping with water scarcity: challenge of the twenty-first century. World Water Day. 22nd March 2007. http://www.unwater.org/wwd07/downloads/documents/escarcity.pdf scholarship for the first author. The Safe Food Fair Food project, a collaborative research project run by
the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and funded by German Bundesministerium für
WHO/UNICEF.2006. Meeting the MDG drinking water and sanitation target : the urban and rural challenge of the decade. Joint Monitoring Program (JMP) of World Health Organisation (WHO) and United
wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ), partially supported the data collection.
Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Available at: http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/monitoring/jmpfinal.pdf.