Sara Bonilla Anariba
Rahma Adam
As One Health approaches gain momentum in East Africa, integrating gender equality and social inclusion is more important than ever. One Health emphasizes the interconnection between human, animal, and environmental health. However, without a clear gender lens, One Health programming can reinforce structural inequalities—particularly for women, youth, and other marginalized groups who are disproportionately affected by zoonotic diseases, climate shocks, and limited access to healthcare or land.
Earlier in 2025, WorldFish and ILRI co-hosted gender training to orient and skill over 200 participants at the Gender, One Health, Safeguarding, and Human Rights Principles Workshop, held at icipe in Nairobi, with key gender concepts and practical tools to integrate equity and inclusion in their programs.
The training, facilitated by Dr. Rahma Adam, Dr. Sara Bonilla, and Dr. Zoë Campbell, drew participants from Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. Through interactive, reflective, and practice-oriented learning activities, the facilitators provided opportunities for participants to explore how gender and intersecting forms of exclusion influence health, livelihoods, and environmental outcomes in agrifood systems.
The workshop aimed to bridge the gap between technical programming and social equity by providing participants with both conceptual foundations and practical understanding.
“Many attendees acknowledged that gender is often treated as an add-on rather than an integral part of program design, monitoring, and evaluation,”
said Dr. Zoë Campbell. Through group discussions, scenario-based exercises, and participatory methods, the training highlighted the importance of rethinking power dynamics, resource access, and voice in One Health and agrifood systems.
Transformative Approaches to Promote Gender Equality and Social Inclusion
A major theme of the training was elucidating the distinction between gender-responsive and gender-transformative approaches.
“While gender-responsive strategies aim to meet practical needs—such as providing training or inputs to women—transformative approaches go deeper by questioning and shifting harmful gender norms, roles, and power relations,”
said Dr. Rahma Adam. For example, during the “Gender Roles Spectrum” exercise, participants sorted common agrifood system tasks—such as seed saving, disease surveillance, or livestock vaccination—according to perceived gender roles. This sparked honest discussions about how cultural expectations influence the division of labor, who controls resources, and whose labor is recognized (or not). In many cases, what was deemed “women’s work” carried significant responsibilities but limited visibility, voice, or reward.
Another interactive activity was the “Power Walk” where participants stepped into the roles of fictional characters of different agrifood systems—such as an uneducated youth farmer, a widowed woman with no land rights, or an older man with political connections. As scenarios related to shocks (e.g., climate change, disease outbreaks, or policy changes) were read aloud, individuals stepped forward or backward depending on how their role would be impacted.
“By the end of this exercise, participants could visualize how social identities such as gender, age, class and education interact to shape access to opportunities,”
said Dr. Anariba. The exercise made power and privilege visible and prompted collective reflection on what inclusion truly means.
Intersectionality was also a core concept throughout the training. Rather than treating gender in isolation, the sessions encouraged participants to consider how gender intersects with other dimensions—such as ethnicity, disability, location, and age—to affect unique forms of marginalization. Scenario-based discussions challenged attendees to design inclusive projects and programs that actively engage those typically left behind.
Building Institutional Capacity
As part of the training, participants identified institutional and policy gaps in their own areas of work. A common concern was the persistent lack of sex-disaggregated data and the limited integration of gender indicators in research, extension, and policy development. Participants called for stronger accountability mechanisms, sustained investments in capacity building, and meaningful participation of women and marginalized groups in decision making.
Impact and Way Forward
Participants left the workshop with a deeper understanding of the social dimensions of health, agriculture, and environment—and with examples of how to integrate gender considerations into their work. Many expressed an interest in further training, institutional follow-up, and support in developing gender-transformative strategies that move beyond “tick-box” compliance.
The workshop was a meaningful step in building a common language and shared vision for inclusive development in the institution and region. It showed that while knowledge and awareness are critical, what’s equally important is the willingness to challenge norms, listen to marginalized voices, and shift institutional practices from within.