Women’s Leadership in PPR Vaccination: A Gender-Responsive One Health Case Study from Ethiopia’s Somali Region

Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is a viral disease that severely affects small ruminants, threatening rural livelihoods and food security in pastoral communities. This case study explores pastoral women’s role in livestock management and their experiences and perspectives on PPR vaccination training and leadership in Ethiopia’s Somali Region. Using eight women-only focus group discussions across three districts, the study compared and synthesised experiences from communities with and without women trained in PPR vaccination. Two main themes were identified. “Navigating hierarchies and the feminisation of responsibility” captured women’s expanding responsibilities in livestock management amid traditional constraints and men’s disengagement, partly linked to khat consumption. “Knowledge privilege, dilemmas, and gaps” contrasted the experiences of women in communities with and without vaccination-trained women, highlighting unequal access to training and information and women’s desire for equal opportunities. Across settings, women identified key barriers including heavy workloads, limited access to vaccines and cold-chain resources, long travel distances with associated safety concerns, and vaccine hesitancy. At the same time, important drivers of women’s engagement were identified, such as their agency in livestock management, strong motivation to learn and take action, and high levels of community trust and support. Focus group participants proposed a community-based “train-the-trainer” model as a promising approach to strengthening women’s roles in animal health service delivery and overcoming structural barriers.