Mireille WORLD

ONCHOCERCIASIS COi\],IROI ^IROGRA}N'M

IN IIM

VOITA R]ITER BASIN AREA

ECONOMIC DE\TEIOHVIEN'I UNIT ocP/Eco/78.7O

THE RO],E OF \IIOME}T

IN

^ECONOITIC DEVEI,O}I\MNT ]N ,IIIEAS ^OF

V,MST AFRICA T'RETD FROM ONCHOCMCilSIS

by

Mireille

SORGHO-.IA3OSStr

ORIGIN.II

:

^FRENCH

Or.ragad.ougou, September 1978

TIID ROI,E 0F ^IdOUiEN ILt SCONOLIIC DE]irlrIOPLiEHT

rN AREAS OF WESI AFR]CA TBEED tr'ROYI ONCi{OCM.CIASIS

IMRODUCTION

I. Soclal

and. economic

status of

^women

in nrral

areas

II. Action

progranrme

for the integation of

^women

in

development

(")

Choice

of priorities (u) Integrated action

(")

Impact

of

appropriate technolory

(a)

Organi-zation and uanagement

of

cooperatives

(") _National

_{support and}

_orternal

_aid

IfI. Ihe

ob.'iectives

IV.

Role

of

womenls movements

CONCIUSION

INTRODUCTION

At a

time when

national polieies are

being developed.

to solve

the socioeconouie prohlems

of the countries

covered by

the

Onchocerciasis -c-oli=?I hogrnnme (Berrin, _Ghana,

rvory coast, Inali, Itrlger,

rogo and upper voJ--ta/, people

are

begirrning

to rea]jze the

predonrinant

role of

women

in

d.evelopment.

This

change i-n

attitudes is bringing

women

out of the

ghetto

they

entered as

a result of the

^many upheavals rvhich

Mrican society

has rrnd.ergone over

the centuries.

fhe first

steps towards

the

iroprovement

of

wonents

living

condltions necessari-Iy

lnvolve a

change

ln mentality

and

institutions.

An

analysis of the situation

by regiorr and. by country sirows

the

urgent need

for fresh

plar:ning concentratlng on

:r;ral

d.evelopment,

health

and

nutrition

education, and

the integration of

women

in the

development

actlrrities

now under way or plar:ned

in the

regions

freetl

frorn

onchocerciasls.

Nevertheless,

if a

^nev{

type of

development

is to

be suceessful

it

must be based

not

on

riva1ry

between men and womenr

but

on nrutual rmderstanding _and

farrily solidarily.

The

failure of certain sectoral

approaches

brings out the neld fo, inte-

grated

action

i-nvolving

the entire population.

The

application of

moderr.

technology

to lighten the

burd.ensome d.ai1y

tasks of

women

in rlral-

areas should nake

it

easj-er

for the

^trromen

to take part in

development

activ:ities.

As develop:nent must be comprehensive,

the

sociaJ-,

health

arrd. educational aspects need

to

be consi-dered as a

whole.

Consequently, _{women need}

to

^learrr

the essentials

i.n

the field of

education

(functional literacy, hy;i";;r-"t"ll, in the socio-eultr:ral fi-eId (nutritlonr,relations

_{wj-th f,hg}

family,

spare time

activiti-es),

and

in the

econom-i-c

fleld'(i;;;ffi;tion of

^nerv

a6rlcultural

techniques, use

of

ineome, sav-ings,

Ioans, ete.) ir

^trrey

are to participate fu1ly in

development

projects.

These nevr approaci:es ,reld.

to

be supported by

appropriate

national policies

_and

i-nternational

cooperation so as

to

mobilize

the

femal-e populati-ons _{concerned and.}

get

them

to participate.

I. Social

arrd economic

status of

women

in

nrral-

The

rigidity of eertain

aratrimonial systems (polygamy,

rslamic

1aw,

christianity) is seriously llpedlns the

advancment

of

women

in

^vlest

rfrica, P*-l-:""::*

(Lta1i,

Niger,

^them Togo, ^i-nto

etc.) *" ,L* instabllity

and making economic

efforts, partieularly

dependence. Marry _throughcoqntries

legislatiogr to

rened.y some

of the

abuses

to

which women

are al-I too

often suoJected (age.

of naffiage, dissolution of

marriage, rerrj-sion

of

law

of property, etc.).

$rtrlle

ihe wrlter

does

not

wish

to take

up

a

posltj-on

for or a8ainst

arly

parti-cular

matrimonial _system,

it

would seem

that

^polygamy,

w-hich

the fu1l

tends d.eveloprcent

to

predomlnate

of the in nrrar

femi

Iy gnit in areas,

i-s iriew

not the of the best

many way emotlonal

of

achieirj-ngan6 econorui-c problems

1t

creates.

While

the

womarr.ts

role

as mother and wrife has a-lvrays been recogr:-i-zed.

without question, the

lnportance

of her

economic

role,

fundamental though

it

is,

has

sti1l not yet

been fu11y accepted..

-3-

fn tra&iti"onaI societies, internal trade

used.

to

be

entirely

hand,led

by women, and

the

und'eniable

financial

power

this

gave thera allowed then more erperienclng freedom has overturned.

to

arrarlge

their affaj-rs. the existing rhe structures trarrsifionat

and created

pu=ioa-*" are

an irnbala.ncanow

=^11?-1'strlbution

of duties.

As

the irading

and marketing

of agricultgral

prooucts _became

a

^matter

for

nen, women have

gradually

been red.uced.

to

m-inor

roles'

dependence Because has increased they have and. become

lost air

opportuni-tJ

total. or * ]-o"or", thelr

financi-al-

II.

Ac

for the int

step

towards

their native the

countries,

New

cri-teria

need

to

be d.efined

for

choosing

action

prograrrmes so as to

bring

_{social- progress}

into

hazmony

with

eco?onic 6rowth.

-[oo

mar:.y develop-

nent projects _are

_geared

to d.ireci _returrrs

(increase

in production,

_improve- ment j-n

too

much

agricultural

recula'ing

expenditure. [he

techniq,res) _and

ignore

one-sidedness

the

social-

of the

aspects vrhlch

projects

has ^j.nvol_ve1ed.

to a

ilead end, and

there is a

need.

for a

new approach

in

plar::eing vrhich

will

i-ncLud'e

the

economi e

r ^soeial

^arrd

cultural

aspects

in a

comprehensive proSralnme.

Now

that the i-ntegratlon of

women

in

development

is

recogrrized as a

priority,

_{ways must}

_speedily

_{be for.urd}

to lighten their

workload _{and make}

it easier for

them

to take pa=l ir.

cornmunity

actirriti"s

and then d.o away

with the

separatisn _whi-ch

is holding

baek

the

development

of nrral

^e_r,eES.

(")

_Choice

of prioritles 1.

l,rlater

rhe

essentlar- element

for

improving

the ]iv:ing conditions of

women arid

children in rural

areas

is rratei.

A

rr.ral

water resou?ces poli-cy has gradrialry _been

set

up

witrE-:[Ee

_{seven countries:}

operations

to locate

_and

exploli

mdergrowrd vteter resources

in

^lrfla1i i

pro.nlsion'of

water supply

pb:otu, _generally

_we11s,

in

upper

volta

and

Togo;

etc. Neverthel"9",

_irruse

facilities _are stiIl rar-rrom

adequate and 'romen

"": :ii+l

^obliged.

to

camy water

for long aistancer G;=;;;

cases 20

lm daily). Ilater

supply

is also

associated. w-ith env:Lronmenta]

sanitation

4easures which affeet-

the nutritlonal-

and hea-1th

status _of

fami 1ies.

Efforts

need

to

be oade

to

ease womenrs domestic work,

exanple,

the introduction of

grincting

m:iIIs to replace the

aruagery or

the pestle

_and

mortar, or thelse of carts for carrying

wood.. The

lntroduction 6t

new techr::iques

will

enable

better

use

to

be uade

of

female labour.

3,

trvomen

are the

pi-11ars

of

^{a^r_1}

education,

The

first

solving

6ducational problems

is to

make womerr

li_terate in language.

lVlany campaigrs

are

being rrndertaken

in

each

of

2.

ln

most cases supported by well-organized vroments movements.(such as

the local

conmlttees

of the

^{National Unlon}

of

^f'Iomen

in NTali).

^[here

ls

a need

to

^develop

agricultural

^extension progrrr'.lmes geared

to

the econo&lc

role

^{which j-s}

to

^be

restored to

^{l\Iomen and}

^not only to

^the

femify €coronsr fo

inprove

the

production

of food

^crops

(treatnent of

seeds,

storagl, preserration)

and.

the raising of livestock,

women neecl

appropriate

trainiirg that will lead

them

to

improve

thei-r

work and make

it

^more productive.

fhe

improved marketing

of food

^{prod.ucts antl}

typically fmale

hand.lcrafts (nmts, ^basketse

etc.)

^{should malte}

it easier for

^women

^to take part in the interned.iate structures

(cooperatives) from which they

are

general-Iy

exclud.eil. fhe

imbalance

in ^the distribution of profits only

^makes

things

worse, and.

a

combined educational a:rd

political

approach

is

^needi:d.

to

reintroduce ^vromen

into the

modern

cycle of

^trad.e

and

distribution.

4.

^fncr@,se

in

^woments monetary income

In ^the traditlonal

soci-eties

of

^lYest

Africa, agrieultural

production depend.s oh woil€rro

[he

colonj-a1 period

upset.the

^pattern

of distribution of

^work by

involving

m:n

in

produetion

(acquisition of the

plough) and. by

refusing

rromen

the

^mea:'rs

to foIlow suit.

^When

their

prod.uction stopped. inereasing because

tliey

were using inappro-

priate

crop-growing technigues, women

gradually lost their financial autonouy. It is therefore

necessary

to

increase womenls independence

by

identifyins

^new

roles in

production

for

them

in the lieht of

^the

capacities

^arrd. resortrces

of

each countrXr.

(t) Intesrated aclion

Although

i-t

^seems

that

an

integrated

^method. ggaranteeing

the

equa-1

distribution of tasks

and

benefits

between

all

^meubers

of the femify is

being developed

in

some

villages (in

^{Upper Vo1ta,}

for

exa.urple,

the training

centres

for rtmal

craftsmen

in

Bobo-Dioulasso ^p1.an

to train

^women

in

^the

processing

of

^{products arld.}

in hand.icrafts), efforts in this ^direction

^are

stil1 half-hearted.

Tntensification of functional literacy

prograrnmes and occupational

training without

discrin,-lnation

by

^sex

is essential to the

development

of

ruraJ-

&re&s. At the

saJrs f,ims,

agrieultural trainlng for

women stressing

the

improvernent

of food

crops

(witH priorlty for

meeting

the nutritionaL

needs

of the

potrn-rlation) and

better

use

of

^modern techniques

(carts,

yoked.

arri-ma1s,

fertilizers, etc,)

would

help to restore to

^women an economic

role

complementing

the role of the

^men.

The

notlon that

^{wonen have}

a

social-

role

and men arr economlc

role

i-s

well out of date,

and

it is clear that efforts to

i-mprove

sanitation,

health and

nutrj-tion will

be

effective only if they are

^{supported by}

the

eornmunity

as

a wtrole. fhere ls

^no d.oubt

that the introduction

arrd increased provision

of

iocioecononic

facilities

^(we11sr

millsr

materrrj-ty

centres,

dispensaries,

etc.)

through

the efforts of the entire

coruil;r:.ity would

lighten

some

of

the

woment

s

d.omesti-c chores and enable them

to

^{make a more}

^active contribution

-5-

to

development. Integrated.

aetion

must

therefore

be

properly

understood;

it

presupposes a

radical

change

in attitud.es'to get ria of tire

taboos

and'

prohibitions

r,vhich

are

^j-upeding

progress.

An awareness

of the

confl-icts and problems

is

^bor.md.

to help to establish

nerv relartionshlps based. on

solidarj-ty.

(")

[tre

lmportance _assi-gned

to

6pproprlate technology enphaslzes the

inequality

betrreen men atrd wonlene Unti-I

recently rr=Lr

d.Lvelolment

progrnmmes _were-

rarety

concerned

with the fate of

women, more from neglect than from

hostili-ty.

trIll:i1e _some modern techni-ques such as

the

use

of

yoked' animals

in

agz:iculture _do

not noticeably lighten the

vrorkf-oad

of

^women,

there is

no denylng

that the

introductj-on

of

some improved

agricultgral

tools

and

instnments

(corn e111,

rice thre"terr-"oti." *i")'"l,rro,:ou ^a

^big

contribution to

improulng

their iirdrrg conditions.

Nevertheless,

it

wourd be

ortremely _expenslve

to

acquire these new tectgriques

in

view

of the

low monetarJr

time

saved' income and

the of

^women increased.

in rural

production e.T€&so _aehieved

ft is

conceivable by certai-n applj-cations

that, with

the

of

appropriate

technoloryr

women woul-d be

able to

organize some srcau renumera-

tlve

buslnesses

that

could. augment

the famiry

incorae

or to set

up coopera-

tives that

could' compete

with certain _traders

rnrho abuse

their

oumership

of

eqtdtrment. A.

pilot project for the

rrred.uction

of

food wastage

in

rura-1 areas

in

Malitr plans

to assist

associations

of village

women

to

^make

better

use

cereals of their

_and inprove

time

so

the that living they

standards can pay

for of their fprniliss, the ,r"" oI

maehines IIew techn-lques

for

processlng

are therefore

beinq:-1!ro$uced,

albeit

s1ow1y. Above

all it is

i-uportant to avoid'

the

danger

o{

gJ-i-enating

sti11 further the

women who

are

caught up ^j;1

a 'ricious ci-rcle of

debts.

(a)

InrPraetlce

women

are still

mair:Iy responsi-ble

for

prod.uction and

distri-

outl-on

Itof agricultural

products _and harr.d.icrafts)

in the rnillage narketsr

arld

it is

organization

only right that

_and management

they

should be

of cooperatives: able to play

_up

to a

now d.eclsive

this role role in

has notthe been recognized,

a factor that'has

helped

to lrelp

them dependent on

the

men who alone had access

to

lncome.

Ikre

priflcipal objectives of the

eooperative

are:

development

of

uutual 71$1 _(shops,

reauction

vrorkshops) _of.

the

which rol-e

require of

niddl-etaenr heavy

capital outlay.

and

benefit

from certa-in Above

all, facilitles

by

granting certain _cred.its the

eooperative

leads to

an improvement

in

economic

productiv:ity. fhis trend

should

therefore bring

about

a substantial

change

ln the

eonditi-on

of

^vromen

in rural

^(and urban)

;e;" *rd ;J; It easier for

them

to

beeome

integrated in the national

economy.

rhe

success

of rural

cooperatives tiepend's on

the

thorough

traini-ng of the entire

population

in

cooperatirre

actiirities

_{so as}

to get rid of the

ercj.sting

inequalities

without

ereating

new ones.

(") _National

supporb and extertrral aid

Arry

action

progr€ume aiming

to integrate

women

in the

economi c

development

of the

areas

freed

from onchocerciasis

coniains priorities in line with the national policy of ^the

^cor.intry concerrred.

For

example, there are many problems associated

vrith water,

sanitatj-on and

rural

development whlch ean be solved. lnJ.y by

mobilizing

and

d,istrlbutlng

national- resources.

ftre forruJ.ation

and. implenentation

of

an

actlon

^programme

for

the

ad.vancement

of

^women

requires State participatlon at three

1eve1s:

(f) At the

nationa]-

].evel (fana

tenure systems, organ-i-zation'of

recepti@, d.efinition of a

water

policy, etc.).

(Z) _{At the}

regional-

Ievel. Varies

accord.ing

to the extent to

^vdrlch

the administration of the

regions concerned

in

each cormtry

is

centralized or decentralized..

li7ith

the

support

of the staff

on

the

spot

(nurses, teachers, agricultural organi-zer")l tn"

loca1 arlministrations

take part in health

and.

nutrition

ed.ucation campaigns

at regional

or even

village

1eve1.

G) At the institutional level. Responsibility for

d.eveloping

the

areas

freed

from onchocerciasis

is

sometiues entrusted

to

ari autonomous

or

semi-autonomous

State

agency (suen as

the Volta

Va-11eys

Developrent

Authority in

Upper

Volta),

which prepares

j-ts

_ovnr

_action

poli-cy

for the integration of

wortenr

fn addition to

nationa-I

initiatives, the

d.evelopuent

of

an action

prosLFmme on

behalf of

^women

generally receives

exteryral

aia (international specialized

agencles,

bilateral aid,

NGOs). A

project for

riequal aecess

for

women

to

education and

eulturerf is

being conducted

in

^Upper

Volta

r,vith the

partieipation of

^UltrESCO, and a

national

^progranme

6f

fam'i

fy

wellbeing vras

laurrched

il

Iogo

in

A977

with the participation of flo,

^{VrIFib, UNfCEF and}

UNF?A.

IfI. [he

ebiectives

1.

fngrease

in

^{food. production}

f1kre

role of

^women

in agriculture

has always been consj-d.erab1e.

In practice, it is the

woman who

is the _"food

producertr

for the familyts

needs.

\{ith the

developfrent

of

eash

crops, the traditional

econony

of self- sufficiency

was

upset'

The replacement

of cul-tivation for the family

by

cultivation for the

market brought \4rith

it serious

consequences: ma'lnulsjf,iep

(of

^women ano

children)

and unaErfeeding soon appear oncJ

sto"ks are

enhausted.

(particularly

on account

of the

drought

in the

Sahel

zones). ft is

essential

therefore to find

ways

of increasing the yieId. of food

crops

to

meet the

nutritional

need.s

of the femify

and

to

buiId. up reserr/es

for the

periods between harnests.

Only

the diversification of basic

food.

crops,

supported by

national

progralnmes,

will

malre

it possible to

^move

gradually

from subsistence fa:mlng towards

the

prod.uction

of

crops

for

extrlort.

-7-

2,

Falqer distributj-on of

^i_ncome

In the trad.itional

soci-eties

of

^lVest

Africa the

^Er'oflEn used

to

be

responsible

for the production,

processing _a.rtd marketing

of agricul-tural products: this

gave

her sufficient

income

to

keep

her iamily

and

to afford

presents,

IIen gradua-1ljr entered

the

arena,

j:rtroducing

_{cash crops arrd}

the

use

of

mod'ezrr declslon-making techniqucer

povrer. Conflicts Ihe financial

power arose

of

because

the

msn

of

increased. and

the

competition

they

betvreenacquired.

men

_the

artd

distrlbution of

women

to

eatrr work money

is

and d.eprlrring meet new women need.s. Vfhile

of their financial tlrts

development independence,

i3 it is involrring

the.men

in a series of

need.s

that

are malring them

increasingly

dependent on

credit

^(purchase

of

equipment and

fertilizers,

personal needs,

etc.).

As

the

averpge income

of rlral femilies

in'tricst

Africa is

already

very

1ow and lmequally

tListributed, it ^j-s essential

to i,ilprove

the d.istributlon of tlie

v,'ork and

creative responsibilities of

^each

lnd.1vidua1,

The ad'option

of

certa-in lr:novations

(agricultural training) or the

use

of

modern techniques _declded. on

jointly and-benefiting

each

neiber of

the

famil}

_once would have

the effect or resoiving

many

of the

tenslons _and creatlng again

a climqte of

nutual-

trust.

1.

Red.uction

of regional d.isparlties

_and

control of

migration

Because

of the

uneYen

regional d.istribution of agricultural potential,

spontaneous

nlgration

from one

distriet to

another

is not

uncorm.oni

this

leads

to

stagnation

of the

econouy

in the

abandoneil

d.ist=i"i"-La to

"

serles of

complex problems

in the

settlement areas.

One way

to

promote

the

d.evelopment

of the land freed

from onchocerciasls

is to

estab1ish new settlements

in

each country which

are sr-rfficiently *;ii--

organized

to

^provide

a fair distribution of resorr"""

betrveen regions.

Etforts in this of

vromen

in the transfomation direction

would.

of rural

prove

ineffective

a.reas were unless taken

tire into parii"ip;tio"

account.

The implementation

of _Brojects to

eolonize new 1and

involves acti-vities l:--1i"u'op.reception

^areas

(irrigatj-on,

_road.s,

_land

crearance,

reafforesta- tirn),

_ertension

social facirities (schools,

di-spensarles,

materrtity centrJ");-il";

progremme

for

^v,romen

that

uri11

give a1i the

women

settlers

a

feellng of solidarity

and ^r,vays

of acting jointly to

lmproye

their daily llfe.

Erbension viork

for

women as

part of a

programae

of integrated

rura-i development emphasizes

the

cardinaJ-

role pliyuI

uy women

in lgriculture.

1:

mgartized'

(1ntroduction ? =:""1t of mobilizatlon of ^the

new modernization

agrlcultural of

women

is of

methods capable

family

and farms and

of factors increasing certain of production), the productirrity

innovationstne

_of

any

region

arr.d

at tite

same

time of

red.ucing

d.isparities in

lncome wi-thin a

region (as

1ow i-ncome

is largely

due

to

^t-oiv

agricul-tural produ"ti#;) ;;

between regions. (rvhen

fertile

land^

is

abandoned

for

overpopulated arid less productive _Iand.).

There

is

no d.oubt

that efforts to

increase womenls

partieipatlon in rural

develolment oould.

help to

slow dovvn

the

rnigra.tory m.ovements whlch are causing

serious social,

econorrlc and

political

pro'blems and

i:r

most eases

are lncreasing the

hardships

of

r;vortrer. and child.ren,

4,

Development

of

research

In

rriet'r

of the

importance

of the

ohar:.ges being irnd.ertaken

in nra1

areas on

behalf of

women,

the

new fonnulas ssssrnmsnfled. mrrst be appropriate and

the

technlques

reliable. It is ^therefore essential that the effective-

ness

of the

extenslon work caru:ot be ea11ed.

into

question by wottrerl.

Io

win

the

womenls confidence

it is

necessary

to try out certaln

j-nnovations very thoroughiy before introd,ucing thema..

Close cooperati-on between research departments and

rural

development prograrmes _{woulcl make}

it possible to icientify

and remove

the difficu].ties

hold.ing back

the

advaneement

of

v\rottrerro

Some research progrenmes

to

be r.md.ertaken:

Iechnologica-l research so as

to

lessen

the

d.rudgery

of

womenls

work and. provide thmr

with a higher

^income.

Educatj-ona-l research

to

^i-mprove

the quality of training

progrsr,mes and. ertension work

for

^women.

Health research directed. ma'inl}r

at traditional-

med.icine and.

its

use.

Nutrltional

research based on

l-ocal

products so as

to

^provide a

ffir

mothers and

children.

Obviously

the

success

of a

rr-rral develotrment progranrme d.epends on

eomprehensive.activities which

take into

account

the

lnterd.epend.ence

of

al1

the

problems (econonlc,

sociological, health

^problems,

etc.).

As

the

areas

freed

from onchocerciasis cannot develop

in a

rm-lforrn nanner, however,

it is

neeessarXr

to take into

account

variations in the social

and econorn-lc

enrriron:nents

of the countries,

and jndeed

of'the

reg:Lons, so as

to adjust

the

eontribution of

^women

to the

loca1

situati-on.

IY.

RoIe

of

woments movements

The

basic

problem-s

confronting

Afri-can v/omen

in the

areas

of

^\lrest

Afri-ca

rights

present-day

ft is for this freed

and d'o world from onehocertlasis

not

reason lceow

-

can be solved.

that

how

national to

become

- ody

^vromen wonents ilovements

involved

through ^who

are generally in

cllalogue and concerted.

the

development have unalvare been

set of of their

up the

efforts. in

most

of the eor:ntries.

Arr

association that is sufficiently

vrerll orgaulzed and

well stmctured

can

play a decislve role in creating

awareness _anong vromen and

mobilizing

thera

to

achieve

better living

condj-tions, prorided.

that

lts

lead'ers real-ize

that their activities

should

not

be

limited to

^d.emand.s

or to charitable

_works.

-9-

lhe chief ebjectives of a

womenls movernent

are the

ad.vanceraent and

active partlcipation of

women

in national

development. Y,Iomen ean

contrlbute

to

health (tunctionar actirrities.(materna-l literifr)

ana devero*ment and

child freaftir), acti.riti";-(;;;,*i;y-;;;.i"pmrent,

educational

actirrities cooperatives, etc.) within the

framevrork

of various national

prograrnmes.

If the

movment

is to

be

effective, its

major concern must be

to bring

about

a

rapicl improvenent

in the condition of

women, who

in

nrra-1 areas

Ilve in

extremely

d.ifficult

circr:mstances.

Some ozanples

of

woments movemer:.ts:

The lfPtigr.r.a1 U+ion gf _.Tlomen

in Mali

^(UNFL{), forxrded

in

1958, has had. a

constltution

si-nce

1974. IT

has imnedlatee medi-ul-te:m and

long-terr objectives in the sociocu]turaI

and econonlc

fields at

both

national

and

international Ievei. ft canies out various actirrities

v*rich are supported by

the

State.

lhe

UNFT'I operates

at the rriIlage, dlstrlct

and

reglonal 1evel. It

has campaigned

for the

spacirlg

of births,

and.

is

now d.evoting

its efforts to the

suppression

of

polygariry and certaj-n

practices involvjng routilation

(f _emate circulccisj_on, etc. ₎

.

^-

(ApU)

is of

more :,ecent

date. fts eonstitution

_and

rules

ana

its

^progrrmme

of

rvork were ad.opted

in

tgTT.

[he objectives of tkis

Association

are: the

stj.:mulation,

nobili- zatlon

and. advareceurent

of

^women

for the

defence

of their i-nterests.

A

variety of

development

actirrities

have been undertaken

witl:

the

effective participation of

women:

organization of

couisese hydrolog.rcal and

agricultural projects, eonstruction of welIs,

etc

o

^'

fhe

_$ay Wonenls Association

is

plannlng

to exploit plots of

]-and

for

growing

r:lce

and oltra.

(nnv)"

As

long

ago as 1925 the Federatj-on analysed.

the si-tuation of

^vromen

in rural

areas ar:.d.

recom.end'ecl

the integration of

^women

in the

development process on an

equal

footing with.men.

A

varieiy of resolutions (on tnl famify,

en

trad1tional courts)

were

adopted.

Since 1977 the Federation nal'be6n conducting an

inforaation

campaign

for

^mem. and vromen

in nrral

EJre&se CONCIUS]ON

A study

of the situatj-on reveals the

many

inequali-ties

between men and.

women j-n _Vtrest

Africa

arrtt

the

need

for i

^nevr concept

of

economic development

ln the

areas

freed

from onchocerciasis.

There

is

an urgent need

for

each

country to define

economic development

ln the light _of its natural

and. hr.rman

="sor,rl"s (il;;J-il;;*;;)-;il;;

ovvn

needs,

A

serles of

profgranrmss

for the

advancemrent

of

^women

in the fieldS

of- economics, nira-1 development, hea-1th,

social affairs

and. education _would

ma.he

a

considerable

eontribution to

^improving

the lirring

cond.itions

of

the

i::habltants.

As

the first

stage

in the

d.evebpment

of the

areas

freed

from oncho-

cerciasis is essentially agricultural in nature, there is

no d.oubt

that lf serious

ertension campaigns were cond.ucted. and. women were given

certaln facilitles to

acquire

the

ueans

of production, the

inmred.late

effects

would be

to.increase pel _eapita agricultural

production _and

to

encourage 1ocaI womenls 1abor.u,

thus

eheckj-ng

the migration

from

rr:ral

areas.

lhe

second stage could

consist of providlng

v,romen

in rural

areas

with

speciaU-zecl

trairring in

a

varietlr of actiyities (inaustryr handicrafts,

rymi-ng

the

:r-:ral_

of

E^Ie&srshop6

or

cooperatives)

that are

bowr.d up

with the

clevel-opnent

of

fl:e najor d.ifficulty is thatr.to

implement such

a

wide progranrms

ef activities for the

advancement

of

^women,

there

must be

a national

determina-

tion to

enforce

the

new

priorities. rt is not posslble to ignore the' poIltical

_{and econonlc}

constralnts in

each

of the

cor.mtries concerned.

IVl1reil1e ^S orgho-Laf os s e