From emergency to development through livestock-based interventions

The policy paper “From emergency to development: building resilience through livestock-based interventions” (8pp, 2018), brought out by Vétérinaires Sans Frontières (VSF) International, describes how disasters affect livestock-based livelihoods, and summarises the types of interventions available for mitigating their impacts and building resilience. It brings examples of how VSF is putting Livestock Emergency Guidelines and Standards (LEGS) into practice and how its principles can be adapted in emergency situations. The examples come, among others, from pastoralist communities in Gedo Region in Somalia and in Afar Region in Ethiopia.

It concludes that livestock offers multiple benefits, so livestock loss is multidimensional. It has a severe impact on the livelihoods of people who depend on livestock and on the various other actors who work in livestock value chains. Humanitarian actors should:

• Recognise the role and value of livestock in recovering from disasters and in strengthening the resilience capacity of livestock-dependent communities;
• Adopt a livelihood approach that puts the resilience of affected communities at the centre and makes strong links between short-term humanitarian interventions and long-term development goals;
• Promote the adoption of LEGS to protect and rebuild livestock assets, whenever the people’s existence depends largely on animals; and understand that applying LEGS well requires working with organisations that have experience and local knowledge.

Posted on 21 February 2018 in Pastoralist Livelihoods & Nutrition, Value of Pastoralism