1. Vulnerability of ethinic minority women in Thanh Van
1.2. Reasons of vulnerability of ethinic minority women
A growing body of evidence, including the recent reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), paints a picture of falling crop yields, livestock problems with access to water, the degradation of many eco-systems, and an increase in diseases (Act!onaid, n.d.)… Local people in Thanh Van have main income from agriculture and livestock and do not have much opportunities to access social services so there are the same above problems which have negative impacts on ethnic minority people, especially women.
Climate change affects agricultural activities due to frequent droughts and decreases in rainfall. For example, in 30 surveyed women, 14 answers is that their families is facing with lack of water for irrigation, 2 households meet erratic irrigation water status. At the same time, plant season may sooner or later but this just happen in some households (14 households). Farmers (22 households) also have to change plant breed or plant type to suitable with the weather but the effect is not high. Farmland is not impacted much but farmland of 12 households is eroded and washed away. These unfavorable conditions make agriculture productivity decline in 25 households.
Moreover, plants and livestock are severely affected by different diseases with very high frequency. From the results, only 2 families are not in danger of these diseases. In proper condition of weather, diseases spread quickly, broader and more difficult to control. The table below shows the list of diseases in plants and livestock (Table 4.4).
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Table 4.4. List of diseases in plants and livestock in Thanh Van
Name of plant
Disease Weather condition to develop
The number of household affected Agriculture Banana Mycosis Humid 4
Panama Rainfall season 4 Paddy Brown backed
hoppers
High frequency of rainfall
8
Stem borer Hot, humid 4
Worm Hot, humid 2
Piriculariose 20-23 degree, humid, cloudy
9
Fruit trees, acacia, Manglietia glauca
Worm Hot, humid 6
Livestock Chicken Sick Erratic changes of weather
2
Green manure, white manure
Hot, humid 8
Emiriois Hot, humid 1
Newcastle Cool 10
Pasteurellosiss avium
Hot, humid 5
Dry feet Hot, dry, lack of water
2
Fish Mycosis Hot, humid 1
Pig Porcine
Reproductive &
Respiratory
Hot 3
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Syndrome (PRRS)
Lepto Rainfall season 1
Foot-and-mouth disease
Hot, humid 1
In the erratic changes of weather, these diseases spread very quick, more and more plants and animals get sick. There are 90% plants and animals was died because people do not have timely and correct methods to control the disease, do not know the disease prevention and the environment does not ensure the hygienic. Many times, in the drought, there will be scarce water, when people spray pesticides, the pest do not die. Productivity is significantly reduced and has a large impact on income. There are 90% of households is damaged above 30% of agriculture and livestock economy.
According to survey results, 6 households are poor, 23 households belong to the middle class and 1 household is good. When the main source of income is affected and reduced, a host of other problems arise. Households cannot escape poverty and have no money to care for their health. In this case, the women in household is the most affected because the rate of main labor in their families is 86,7% (26 women). After the time the women works on the fields, they come back home and do housework like cooking, caring for children, cleaning the house ... are considered to be the work of women and are referred to as the "work of women", and are chiefly undertaken by women from 50% to 100%. These things are often "unnamed" which is overlooked and unpaid. Men join with the mind to "help" and do not take initiative, do not like to do. This impacts directly on women’s health.
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Due to the weaker physical characteristics, poor resistance (80% surveyed Tay women has weak and medium health now), long-lasting colds are more harmful to women's health than men. The working time of women is more than that of men, women have to do housework, such as washing, cooking more than men, exposure to cold water. Therefore, women suffer more from the effects of cold snaps, which is more harmful to health than men. Similarly, heat also affects women's health more than men. Women are susceptible to hot drunk, be tired quickly. Cattle and poultry are more susceptible to disease and death: women are more likely to do household chores, so more time is needed to care for livestock. There are 100% of households use water from the nature, mainly well-water. Consequently, droughts lead to lack of running water, declined water’s quality (40% of households suffering) and women often have to carry water from other place for their own use and for their family members, unclean water contains many bacteria, virus which are very easy to cause diseases so women are more affected by drought.
Underdeveloped crops, reduced productivity: women spend more time caring for crops, less time to rest and health recovery. Now, there are 56.7% women having health status in medium level, 23.3% is weak status and only 20% is healthy. That is because they are coping with many health’s problems. Each person has at least 1 diseases. Common diseases are headache, flu, backache, joint hurt, stomachache. Only 3 women do not get any sickness (Table 4.5).
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Table 4.5. Diseases on Tay women suffering from disasters, erratic weather
Disaster Disease Number of
affected women
Influence level
Season changes Backache, joint hurt 10 High
Headache 7 Medium
Rainfall season Stomachache 12 Medium
Flu 21 Medium
Skin disease 5 Low
Weather allergy 2 Low
Drought Asthenia 2 Medium
Varicella 1 High
Diarrhea 2 Medium
Cold Flu 1 Medium
Bronchitis 5 High
On the other hand, in the context of climate change, nutritional status of women, especially pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers depends heavily on household economy and food security (Phuong, et al., 2012). Most of the households grow rice, raise pigs, chickens, or even buffalos, cows, ducks and goats. Households’
scale are small, self-sufficient, and exchangeable with little money. This work help to improve income not too much. Therefore, despite the fact that foods are sold at weekends, but local people not much money, people could not buy food with nutritional value such as meat and fish. According to some comments of Tay women, except for this year – April, May of 2017- pork is very cheap (30,000-40,000vnd/kg) so families can buy a lot to eat in many meals. Due to the effects of climate change, hot weather, prolonged cold, buffaloes, cows and chickens, also rice, also suffer from
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the death, chances of women is reduced in the consumption of rich protein foods that they can produce at home.
In the period of time (2011-2016), Tay women are vulnerable to debts. To have more income, look after family, the women have to invest on plants or livestock that they need quite much money. Borrowing money from farmer group, women union, saving group is the only solution. For instance, 70% households have borrowed amount of money with interest rate 0.65% or 0.75% in a year to buy buffaloes, goats, cover pond, take care animal husbandry, afforestation, fix home, cure illnesses and for their children go to school. They borrowed at least 10,000,000 vnd and highest 50,000,000 vnd. In this rate, 33.3% is that householders borrowed but they have not paid back yet and 33.7% is that householders paid off the debts. In this time, the women has to work more, think more to find the solution for debts. They have less time to relax, limited spending so if the disasters affect on their families and themselves, they become more vulnerable due to lacking of money to solve consequences about houses, plants, livestock and being unhealthy to fight the diseases.