Promoting gender-responsive approaches and One Health among animal and human health workers in Western Africa

Organized by the Virtual Learning Center for West Africa, the course aims to address gender-specific challenges and guide women and men in farming communities on the prevention of infectious diseases, other One Health risks and to improve nutritional security. It involves a variety of activities including a live session, 8 online interactive modules and a discussion forum for peer exchange and direct interaction with expert trainers. A total of 489 participants were enrolled on the West Africa VLC platform for this course, mostly from Nigeria including a cohort 50 VPPs and CHWs also attending  face-to-face workshops. 

Gender empowerment, an important factor for One health interventions and for health service delivery at community level 

As last-line actors, veterinary paraprofessionals and community health workers play a crucial role in the adoption of One health principles at community level since they act as service providers supporting human health, animal health and welfare on farms. As such, gender is an important factor that influences both human health and animal health services delivery outcomes. In addition to this, women farmers, who often manage livestock alongside domestic responsibilities like food preparation and childcare, face a high risk of foodborne or animal-borne disease. As a result, they are key stakeholders and a crucial target group when disseminating information and promoting for One Health approaches and initiatives. This online course focuses on outlining key gender concepts and gender-sensitive approaches, explaining “gender-responsive service delivery’’ and how it can be applied to improve one health outcomes, describing how collaboration between human and animal health professionals can facilitate the identification of disease risks and improve disease responsiveness, and how strong and inclusive communication skills can benefit a human and animal health professionals’ work. 

FAO Virtual Learning Centers

The FAO Virtual Learning Centers function as virtual hubs designed to enhance regional delivery of online training. These centers aim to provide inclusive, engaging, and high-quality training using various methodologies to address regional needs and priorities. The VLCs play a crucial role in bridging knowledge gaps and promoting competencies required for online training within FAO regional and subregional offices. This training course is organized with the support of FAO's Virtual Learning Center for West Africa, established at the FAO's Sub-Regional Office for West Africa.