Sedentarization: A Means to Promote the Right to Food, Health and Education the Case of Karrayu Pastoralists of Eastern Ethiopia
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2011
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Abstract
Poverty is the gravest human rights challenge facing pastoralists today. To address this
problem and improve socioeconomic rights of Karrayu pastoralists, the Ethiopian
government has introduced a sedentarization program –“the Fentale Irrigation Based
Integrated Development Project (FIBIDP)” to improve the right to food, health and
education of Karrayu pastoralists.
In order to examine the impact of sedentarization on the right to food, health and
education of Karrayu pastoralists, this study employed both quantitative and qualitative
approaches of data collection. These methods of data collection used were Household
surveys, focus group discussions, key informants interviews, and direct field observation
were the primary sources of data collection.
According to the findings, food, health and education rights of sedentarized pastoralists
are found to be improved/better realized. The sedentarization program in Fentale wereda
was found to be successful in terms of improving the realization of socio-economic rights
of pastoralists. This is because, sedentarized pastoralist have better access to food as
well as health and education services; better availability of means of production;
improved utilization of food as well as health and education services. However, problems
of soil salinity along with poor capacity of health and education institutions still pose a
challenge to the realization of these rights in the area.
To extend the success of the sedentarization program and ensure progressive realization
of socioeconomic rights (right to food, health and education), it should be noted that
availability of means of production should be ensured in a sustainable manner and more
budget and associated interventions should be put into practice by all stakeholders as to
capacitate health and education institutions with the necessary human and material
supply; thereby improving the lives of Karrayu pastoralists sustainably.