Socio-Cultural Factors Affecting Sexual &amp; Reproductive Health: the Roles of Traditional Institutions among the Borana Pastoralists of Oromiya, Southern Ethiopia
Creators: name: Amae, Ibrahim
Publisher: name: National Academic Digital Repository of Ethiopia
Year: 2006

description: Sexual and Reproductive Health conditions account for a substantial portion of the global burden of disease. But, for women in reproductive years the burden of SRH conditions is far higher than any other category of illness. Unfortunately, for women in sub-Saharan Africa the SRH conditions are much worse and alarming. According to the MDGs by 2015 the child mortality rate would be reduced by two-thirds, MMR would be reduced by three-quarters and HIV/AIDS epidemic have halted or began to reverse. Traditional beliefs and practices exist in all areas of life, including reproduction and sexuality. However, little is known about the social and cultural factors affecting SRH and the RH needs of pastoralist communities in Ethiopia such as Borana who have a distinct sociocultural make-up compared to the mainstream farming highland population. Besides, the roles of traditional institutions such as the Gada and Gumi in SRH promotion are not well established and priorities in RH care not well documented. In these regards, the beliefs, values, and norms that underpin the socio-cultural factors that affect SRH, the roles of Traditional institutions in the promotion of SRH and priorities in the RH care should be explored. An exploratory qualitative study was conducted in the lowland districts of Borana and Guji zones in January and February 2006. Interviews with focus groups and key informants, observations, and secondary data collection were used as data collection techniques. The Participants in FGDs and individual in-depth interviews were selected purposively. FGD participants were homogenous, were as key informants were hetrogenous and selected using snowball sampling techniques. The data was analyzed manually in the field and using computer soft wares. 2 SRH norms, rules, and regulations were identified. Sexual relationships are highly regulated and subject to certain restrictions. Sexual relation is forbidden with a woman or man, who belongs to the generation 'Gada grade' of one's father or one's son, or who belongs to one's clan, or who has uterine and kinship relations. Girls must remain chaste and virgin before marriage; breastfeeding women must abstain from sexual intercourse while breastfeeding were among the salient sexual norms identified. There are strict rules and regulations against individuals who contravene the customs and laws of Borana known as Aada-Seera Borana. Jaala-Jaalto is an extramarital sexual relationship between married women and men. It is unlawful but tolerated and condoned by the society. Social factors that affect the SRH include among others, rampant consumption and sale of a local liquor "Arake', religious crusades and education against the customs and laws, dramatic increase in urban-rural interaction, and conflict and militarization. There is a huge gap between the RH needs and the RH services rendered by stakeholders and actors in the area. Traditional institutions in Borana society are still viable and have significant influence over the lives of the Borana people. These institutions play vital roles in the promotion of positive cultural behaviors, and have started playing significant roles in the prohibition and abandonment of practices identified as harmful by external development actors. Recommendations made were to recognize and empower traditional institutions as potential partners in the promotion of SRH especially in the fight against HIV/AIDS and eradication of harmful RH practices, and actions to be taken to improve the SRH service delivery in the area.