Can one chicken make a difference to a child's health?
Podcast chapters
1:55 A village in Siaya County, west Kenya
4:07 Why can't we just give people more chickens?
5:50 What's Newcastle disease?
8:54 Why linking livestock to children's health is hard
10:34 What did the study do?
12:32 Why chickens can have huge impact for rural communities
16:58 What next?
In 2014 a survey found that a quarter of children under 5 in western Kenya were stunted. Stunting creates lifelong, chronic health issues and worse mental development. Better nutrition can help avoid stunting, but can be a struggle for families that are already lacking money, resources and access to support.
What if there was a way to empower families by improving a simple resource that they already have?
In the first episode of season 3 of The Boma, we visit Siaya County with researcher Elkanah Otiang and his colleagues from the Kenya Medical Research Institute. In rural communities, chickens are a small but ubiquitous livestock. What benefits do they provide to families - and children's health? Could we tackle stunting and undernutrition in children - by targeting interventions at chickens?
Animal health and gender researcher Zoe Campbell, a co-author of the study, also knows that health interventions can affect girls differently from boys. She joins us to explain what they found.
The study this episode reports on was a finalist for the 2022 Cozzarelli Prize, an award that recognizes outstanding contributions to the scientific disciplines represented by the National Academy of Sciences.
Read more:
Newcastle disease is the main cause of mortality in rural chicken flocks
7.5 million Kenyans in rural communities live on less than USD 2 a day