THE BURDEN OF ANIMAL DISEASE IN WORKING DONKEYS IN ETHIOPIA

Animal power remains crucial for transportation, agricultural activities, and rural trade in low- and middle-income countries. In Ethiopia, donkeys are essential for both farming and non-farming households, providing transport and draught power, contributing significantly to livelihoods. Despite their importance, donkeys have received limited research attention. The lack of empirical evidence on the economic contribution of donkeys has led to their undervaluation and exclusion from policy with chronic underinvestment, and poor welfare outcomes. This study aimed to investigate the socioeconomic contributions of donkeys and the impact of disease and injury on household livelihoods and the national economy in Ethiopia. Data were collected through household surveys, focus group discussions, key informant interviews, expert elicitation workshops, and aggregation of secondary data from literature and national census data. A combination of statistical, epidemiological, and economic modelling techniques were used to analyse these data. Results revealed a growing number of equids and equid-owning households in Ethiopia. Cluster analysis on household survey data identified three distinct donkey production systems: Pastoral Domestic, Crop-Livestock Mixed Domestic, and Commercial systems. Differences between systems are primarily influenced by donkey use, agro-ecological context, and husbandry practices. Constraints associated with donkey ownership varied by systems: injuries and welfare issues were most prevalent in commercial systems; feed shortages and drought were most prevalent in pastoral areas; and infectious diseases were most prevalent in crop-livestock settings. An enterprise budget analysis using a dynamic herd model showed that the benefits of donkey ownership significantly exceed the associated costs. The average annual net return from donkey ownership and use per household was USD 567 (95% PI: 479–660), contributing up to 21% of household income. Donkeys reduce the time spent by people on labour-intensive homestead activities by up to 16.5 hours per week, with women and girls benefitting most due to their primary role in household labour in rural settings. At national level, the economic output from working donkeys was estimated at USD 2.2 (95% PI: 1.7–2.8) billion, equivalent to 2% of Ethiopia’s gross domestic product in 2022, with 73% of this value attributed to the unpaid services donkeys provide. The overall burden of disease was quantified using the Animal Health Loss Envelope (AHLE) metric, which estimates the gap between current and potential output in the absence of disease. The AHLE was estimated to be USD 162 (95% PI: 149–176) per household annually, or USD 646 (95% PI: 566–739) million nationally. Diseases and injuries result in the loss of approximately 28% of the income generated by donkeys. The disease burden was primarily driven by morbidity, with external causes (such as injury and wounds) and non-infectious causes of loss contributing most to the production losses. Premature mortality was predominantly due to infectious diseases. This study demonstrates the socio-economic importance of donkeys and burden of disease in Ethiopia across the diverse production systems. These findings can be used to promote the recognition of working donkeys as an integral part of the livestock sector, to improve their inclusion in policies that improve their welfare and catalyse much needed investment in animal health enhancing the resilience and productivity of donkey-dependent communities.