article · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
An exploratory qualitative study across five districts in the Afar region of Ethiopia examined how gender dynamics affect adolescent and youth health. Drawing on sixteen key informant interviews and eight focus group discussions with community members, the investigation found that both younger and older women face profound disadvantages. Women and girls shoulder heavy domestic and pastoral workloads, including housekeeping, home building, and caring for livestock and children. In addition, social structures leave women with little value, no control over economic resources, and no voice in personal or household decision-making. These circumstances, compounded by traditional practices such as arranged marriage known as absuma, severely restrict female access to education and medical facilities. Consequently, poor healthcare utilisation results in severe sexual and reproductive health problems across the region.
Deep-seated gender inequalities directly compromise the well-being of women and girls in marginalised settings. Understanding how unequal workloads, cultural marriage practices, and resource restrictions obstruct access to healthcare is vital for public health authorities and development organisations seeking to design effective interventions that improve reproductive health outcomes.
The abstract does not indicate a commercialisation pathway, as the findings are focused on qualitative health assessments rather than market-ready technologies or products. However, the operational insights can guide public health agencies, non-governmental organisations, and healthcare providers in tailoring community health programmes and service delivery models to better reach underserved pastoralist populations.
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The main purpose of this research was to analyze gender context in the Afar region of Ethiopia and propose a set of strategies or actions to improve adolescent and youth health. Using a pre-established gender analysis framework, an explorative qualitative study was conducted in five districts. Sixteen key informants and eight focus group discussions were conducted among adult women and men of young adolescents and youth. The study revealed that younger and older women are the most disadvantaged groups of the society. This is due to the high workload on women and girls (housekeeping, building a house and taking care of cattle and children), they also are less valued, have no control over resources and have no part in decision making, including their personal life choices. As a result, they rarely access school and health facilities. They are forced get married according to arranged marriage called "absuma." As such, they suffer from multiple reproductive health problems. Women have poor decision-making autonomy, lack control over resources, have limited participation in socio-economic practices, and experience child and early forced marriage, and this poor service utilization has exposed them to the worst sexual and reproductive health outcomes.
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DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17124592
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