The Relationships Between Livestock and Human Wealth
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THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN LIVESTOCK AND HUMAN WEALTH, HEALTH, AND WELLBEING IN A RURAL MAASAI COMMUNITY OF SOUTH- WESTERN KENYA by Catherine Sian Glass B.Sc., The University of British Columbia, 1986 M.Sc., The University of Toronto, 1993 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Population and Public Health) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) October 2019 © Catherine Sian Glass, 2019 The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for acceptance, the dissertation entitled: The relationships between livestock and human wealth, health, and wellbeing in a rural Maasai community of South-Western Kenya submitted by Catherine S. Glass in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Population and Public Health Examining Committee: Dr. Trevor Dummer, School of Population and Public Health Supervisor Dr Monika Naus, School of Population and Public Health Supervisory Committee Member Dr Jerry Spiegel, School of Population and Public Health University Examiner Dr David Fraser, Land and Food Systems University Examiner Dr Guy Palmer, Washington State University External Examiner Additional Supervisory Committee Member: Dr. Marina Von Keyserlingk, Land and Food Systems ii Abstract Livestock are critical to the livelihood of up to two billion global poor and thus represent an ideal focus for poverty amelioration. For traditional keepers, livestock are: culturally significant, nutritionally important, and serve as “daily currency” and household “savings”. However, they may also increase infectious disease risk, especially via zoonoses which can reduce both human and livestock health and quality of life. Although many studies exist on livestock-dependent communities, including the Maasai and other pastoralists, significant knowledge gaps persist regarding the relationships between traditional livestock- keeping and human wellbeing. This dissertation investigated associations between pastoral livestock and owner health through a series of cross-sectional and longitudinal studies conducted in Olkoroi, a rural Maasai community. The objectives were to: 1) review the literature on connections between livestock health and productivity, and human wealth, health and wellbeing; 2) describe Olkoroi sociodemography and capital; 3) assess local human and livestock disease priorities and livelihood challenges; 4) conduct longitudinal studies of livestock growth, livestock and human infectious disease; 5) measure adult psychological wellbeing; and 6) use the collected data to build predictive models of human wellbeing, herd size, livestock growth, livestock and human infectious disease frequency. I found livestock were the primary livelihood and predicted psychological wellbeing, but 40% of households, primarily female-headed, had insufficient animals to support themselves. Men and women identified similar factors affecting wellbeing but differed in proportional attribution: women uniquely spoke of restrictions on autonomy. Community disease prioritizations were similar to national priorities, however, disease management was inconsistent and causal understanding was low. Households self-rated husbandry practices highly, but felt financial constraints prevented adoption of best practice. Household variables were associated with herd size, but climate was the best predictor of livestock growth, and livestock and human infectious disease: livestock disease prevalence did not predict human disease. My results suggest livestock research must prioritize gender and local context to better understand livestock-human health relationships. Claims about the contribution of livestock to human disease burdens must also be clarified through more consistent research iii frameworks which allow inter-study comparisons, and more longitudinal studies to better identify causal relationships between exposures and disease incidence. iv Lay Summary How livestock affect human wellbeing in rural poor communities is not fully understood. My research explored human-livestock relationships in Olkoroi, a Kenyan Maasai community. Livestock remains culturally important, and residents are confident about their herding practices. Herd size reliably indicates wealth and predicts herder happiness. Single parents are almost exclusively women, typically lack livestock, and consequently struggle to support their children. Some women feel restricted by tradition, and a lack of government infrastructure increases health risks and limits livelihood diversification. Community members believe that livestock does not contribute significantly to human disease: my research supports their belief, as I find that human and livestock disease are both primarily associated with climate. I recommend that keeper perspectives should be prioritized in future research and development initiatives in rural poor settings, because keepers have the most knowledge about their livelihoods and how they are affected by the ecosystems in which they live. v Preface This dissertation is original, unpublished, independent work by the researcher and author, Catherine Glass. Data presented and analysed in chapters 3-7 were covered by UBC Ethics Certificate H07-02752 and the Kenya Medical Research Institute Non-Scientific Steering Committee Protocol Number 164. vi Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................... iii Lay Summary ...........................................................................................................................v Preface ..................................................................................................................................... vi Table of Contents .................................................................................................................. vii List of Tables ........................................................................................................................ xiv List of Figures ...................................................................................................................... xvii Abbreviations ..................................................................................................................... xviii Glossary: Maasai/Swahili/Kenyan Vernacular ................................................................. xxi Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................. xxii Dedication ........................................................................................................................... xxiv Introduction, Background, Research Justification, Goals and Objectives .....1 1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Justification of Research Focus ................................................................................ 3 1.3 Background (emphasis on Africa, Kenya and the Maasai) ....................................... 5 Modern Pastoralism .............................................................................................. 5 Health and Pastoralism ......................................................................................... 9 Wellbeing and Pastoralism ................................................................................. 11 1.4 The Potential of Livestock-based Development Initiatives to Improve Health and Wellbeing in Poor Populations (Africa/Pastoral focus) ...................................................... 12 Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in a Global Poverty Context .................................... 12 Poverty in Kenya................................................................................................. 13 vii Knowledge Gaps and Poverty in Narok County and Narok South Sub-County 15 Livestock and Poverty......................................................................................... 17 Livestock in Kenya (focus on pastoralists) ......................................................... 18 1.5 Existing Reviews of Livestock Based Interventions .............................................. 21 1.6 Research Goals and Objectives ............................................................................... 24 1.7 Livestock-Based Interventions: Opportunities and Challenges .............................. 25 1.8 Thesis Overview ..................................................................................................... 29 Data Collection and Analytical Methodology ..................................................31 2.1 Setting, Population and Ethics Approval ................................................................ 31 2.2 Research Development, Field Work Timeline, and Field Assistance .................... 32 2.3 Qualitative and Mixed Methods Data Collection ................................................... 34 Personal Record Keeping and Informal Community Perspectives ..................... 34 Single Interviews with CMF Employees and District Officials ......................... 35 Wealth Marker Focus Groups ............................................................................. 37 Livestock duties/SWLS/Wellbeing interviews ................................................... 37 Livestock and Human