A healthy and sustainable future for the women of Zio

Women in Togo’s Zio district have limited access to credit, land ownership and resources for self-sufficiency.

They also have little say in household decisions, limited influence over the use of household income and limited opportunities to assume leadership positions within communities. 

In this rural region, where only 46% of women aged 15-49 are literate, many live off farming in the form of small cooperatives. Even so, they are exposed to hardships and health problems caused by burning wood for cooking and exposure to infectious diseases such as NTDs due to poor hygiene and sanitation practices. Zio is also the most endemic district in the country in terms of cases of Buruli ulcer.

In order to promote citizen awareness around eco-citizenship, gender and NTDs in the cantons of Djagblé and Abobo in the district of Zio, we have partnered with JVE, a local organisation, to improve women’s quality of life, health and financial security. To this end, we are carrying out the following activities:

• Training sessions on the subjects of life as part of an association, sustainable agroforestry methods, financial management, resource mobilisation, women’s rights and women’s leadership in eight women’s agricultural cooperatives.
• Training of these cooperatives in environmental awareness, NTDs and their consequences on health.
• We have provided 240 improved wood-burning cookers and 240 charcoal cookers to the eight women’s cooperatives and taught them how to install them. We also supported the installation of 20 cookers for 20 vulnerable households in the district.
• Reforesting two hectares of land with 8,000 fast-growing plants.

Upon completion of our activities, the eight women’s groups and their communities will have learned about agroforestry and rural savings.

Moreover, they will have learned women’s rights and awareness of climate change, renewable energy and biodiversity conservation. Consequently, the cantons of Djagblé and Abobo will be better prepared to cope with diseases such as NTDs and move towards a more equal and sustainable society.