USask project supports health initiatives for African women and girls
A five-year global initiative in community health and One Health — in collaboration with University of Saskatchewan (USask) faculty and students — will help empower poor, marginalized farmers in rural Africa, especially female-headed households, women and girls.
By Tyler SchroederThe One Health Community Partnerships (OHCP) project, supported by nearly $4 million from Global Affairs Canada and additional USask funding, aims to develop relationships and sustainable practices in response to human, animal and environmental health challenges. Its activities are focused in rural regions of Ghana, Uganda and Ethiopia where there’s a high prevalence of zoonotic diseases (diseases that are transmissible between humans and animals) and human-animal-environment interface-related illnesses.
“The University of Saskatchewan is committed to combating global health threats at all scales through innovative and transdisciplinary approaches. We simply cannot do that without collaborative efforts like the OHCP project,” says
The project is part of the USask One Health Signature Area of Research, which addresses global health threats through proactive, innovative and transdisciplinary approaches under the One Health framework. The OHCP project also aligns with Canada's Feminist International Assistance Policy (FIAP), which prioritizes empowerment of women and girls who face cultural barriers and limited access to resources to attain their full potential.
“Our One Health transdisciplinary approach will address health literacy and societal disparities that are a reality for women and girls in low-resource environments,” says Dr. Claire Card (DVM, PhD), a USask professor at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) who is leading the project and serving as its animal health lead.
In 2024 the project sent its first cohort of four USask student volunteers to remote regions in the Nabdam District of Ghana and the Isingiro District of Uganda. Over three months, the students worked with local staff, partners and communities to build relationships and conducted educational presentations for schools and women’s groups. A second USask group will travel to Africa this summer to deliver educational initiatives in communities and schools and to participate in hands-on learning opportunities.
“Robust solutions really come from the communities themselves,” says Card. “They are the experts in their own lives, but by working together, we create a better understanding of their situations and can build resilient solutions.”
Other USask collaborators are Dr. Gord Zello (PhD), a professor in the College of Pharmacy and Nutrition and the project’s human health lead; Dr. Corinne Schuster-Wallace (PhD), executive director of the Global Institute for Water Security, a faculty member in the College of Arts and Science’s Department of Geography and Planning, and the project’s environmental health lead; and Dr. Susan Fowler-Kerry (PhD), a professor in the College of Nursing.
The wide-ranging project includes African staff and partners in the three regions, along with faculty collaborators at Hawassa University in Ethiopia, Uganda’s Mbarara University of Science and Technology, and the University of Ghana. Faculty from University of Guelph and University of Toronto are among the project’s Canadian collaborators, along with additional USask faculty who serve as subject matter experts.
Meron Johnston, the OHCP project’s director, says that the initiative is grounded in a philosophy of shared learning and empowerment.
“We’re invited collaborators, working together with these communities to find solutions that respect their needs and realities,” says Johnston. “The goal is to build sustainability and give both community members and our USask members and volunteers opportunities for mutual learning and growth.”
One of the USask student volunteers was Dr. Jan Gallardo (DMD), a dentist and a current biomedical sciences student, who volunteered in the Upper East region of Ghana. He and his teammate worked to strengthen relationships and conducted educational presentations on basic hygiene, menstrual health and personal hygiene practices such as handwashing and oral hygiene.
He describes his volunteer experience as “transformative,” helping him gain new insight about the challenges facing these populations.
“You can see how hard these people work but how limited their opportunities are. There are simple things like the availability of water — there’s a community that shares a well between 10 to 12 families. It really makes you appreciate what we take for granted.”
Gallardo says many of the women expressed interest in learning skills such as soap-making and weaving that could provide financial independence. Supporting One Health training and other income-generating programs is set to be a focus for future student volunteers
The OHCP project’s long-term vision is not just about providing immediate health benefits but creating lasting structural changes in the communities — such as providing women with the tools to continue their own economic development independently.
“There’s a gender component to everything that we do [in this project],” says Johnston. “From One Health education to training and income generation, we’re listening to women and girls and advancing their needs.”
This approach is consistent with Card’s initial outreach work nearly two decades ago when she taught an “African wildlife experience” course for senior veterinary students at the WCVM. In 2006 Card and her students travelled to Uganda and developed links with students from Makerere University, working to address issues related to livestock and resources with training and support systems.
“We learned that many of the women in the community weren’t allowed to go to school when they were younger and the livestock that people had — primarily goats — were dying of preventable diseases that were treatable” says Card. “It became apparent that what we needed to help build that capacity with the local people.”
Card’s team helped train women to become “para-vets” — community-based veterinary workers who could provide essential services such as vaccinations and animal health management. The success of the program, which started with a handful of women, has seen individuals gain social standing and influence in their communities. For example, one of the participants eventually became her community’s deputy mayor — illustrating the program’s transformative power.
“What we’ve seen over the years is that when women are empowered to improve the health of their animals and contribute to their community’s well-being, their own lives improve as well,” Card says.
The OHCP project is replicating that model and incorporating a gender equality lens in all of its activities.
As the team prepares to send this year’s student volunteers, Card notes the program’s success hinges on partnerships that are built on trust and mutual respect.
“As partners, we know that it’s an equal knowledge relationship. It isn’t us giving them something and not taking anything away. We’ve benefited so much from that trust in their relationship that we’ve had with them.”
Card adds that volunteer experiences are invaluable and life changing for students who want to expand their perspectives on world issues.
“Our students come back transformed. There is definitely a need … for people to get ‘boots on the ground’ experience to see the situations people live in,” points out Card. “When they come back to Canada, they have a different focus on what’s important in life. They understand the world better and I think that they’re more mature, compassionate, aware and inspiring. And they really do learn a lot.”