FAO increases the resilience of Kuchi nomadic communities through COVID-19 sensitization and anticipatory action in remote areas of Afghanistan

Nasruddin’s income had suddenly plummeted since the last spring migration in April. For some strange reason he could not figure out, he was not selling anywhere near as much as he used to in the markets. His declining earnings made it difficult for him to feed and deworm his five goats. How will we endure next winter, he wondered.

By mid-October, the family migrated with a caravan of Kuchi nomadic herders back to his village, in Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan. As usual, they came to spend winter in a warmer place. Nonetheless, the early cold weather seemed to announce a tough wintertime.

“I don’t think my goats will have reached the next spring because they were already tired and vulnerable to any disease due to our winter migration. They would have been affected very badly,” says Nasruddin.

Leaving no one behind

One day, absorbed in thoughts, his mobile phone rang. In collaboration with the provincial authorities, community and village leaders, FAO had selected his family to receive livestock emergency support to anticipate the pandemic-related shocks, so to increase their resilience to cope with them, as well as to sensitize them about the new coronavirus and how to prevent its spread.

Thanks to the generous funding of Germany and the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), managed by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), FAO worked to minimize the potential impacts of COVID-19 to the agricultural livelihoods of vulnerable people of remote areas in the provinces of Herat, Kabul, Nimroz, Balkh, Faryab, Kandahar and Nangarhar. A total of 3 500 food insecure Kuchi households have been eventually assisted.

Livestock plus assistance and increased resilience

Nasruddin hung up and ran to tell the news to the family. His growing worry about the near future had suddenly been dissipated. Every household would receive a full livestock support package, which consisted of 100 kg of concentrated animal feed, and veterinary support through the deworming programme.

The animal feed provided is fortified with protein and extra calories to keep Nasruddin’s animals healthy, productive, and strong enough to cope with the upcoming winter. Moreover, the deworming campaign provided preventive medication against the parasites that make the animals susceptible to other deadly diseases.

“The quality of feed from the market is much lower compared to the ‘magical feed’ provided by FAO. My animals quickly got in good shape to weather the whole winter,” says the Kuchi herder.

COVID-19 sensitization

Kuchis maintain their ancestral lifestyle: they live in remote areas and make the seasonal migration. They raise their animals and sell them and their products to local communities for their subsistence. Despite being essential to Afghanistan’s food security through their contribution in terms of animal products and by-products, the majority of Kuchis like Nasruddin are poor and live a stressful life.

Armed conflict, tribal and ethnic violent disputes, as well as extreme weather shocks, like the severe drought in 2018, have been the main drivers challenging the nomadic tribe’s food security. COVID-19 was going to be another punch in their still fragile food security gut.

Further to the livestock related assistance, Nasruddin’s family received N-95 reusable facemasks along with a set of anti-germ soaps. Assisted families participated in a briefing on COVID-19 preventive measures. They learned how and where to use masks, as well as how to wash their hands effectively in order to prevent the transmission of the virus.

By the time FAO reached out to Kuchi herder nomadic communities, they knew very little about COVID-19. Kuchis migrate to cooler and remote areas during Kandahar’s hot summer; therefore, sensitization campaigns had barely reached to them, and communities had paid little attention to the disease for several economic, social and religious reasons.

“I did not know that by applying these easy steps, we could prevent COVID-19. Had we known this by early spring last year, we would have saved the lives of some of our relatives who have died due to this disease,” says Nasruddin.

The Kuchi family has so far managed to stay away from the new coronavirus and will have soon overcome the harshness of winter. The herd is healthy, and some nannies are expected to give birth in the coming spring. Nasruddin looks forward to greener pastures in 2021.

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The Federal Republic of Germany and Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), managed by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), provided funding for FAO to deliver a time-sensitive and season-critical intervention to protect vulnerable Kuchis’ livestock and livelihoods; as well as women-headed farming families, landless labourers and marginal farming households’ food and nutrition security. The intervention also ensured the safe functioning of agricultural markets in order to prevent – or at least minimize – the transmission of COVID-19.