This project was conducted with the Global Burden of Animal Disease (GBADs) programme at the University of Liverpool. With 1 in 5 people globally depending on livestock production for their incomes and livelihoods, morbidity and mortality of animals due to disease can have a significant negative impact on people's lives. Additionally, zoonotic disease transmission can lead to further losses due to morbidity and mortality in humans. These impacts may not only be financial, but come in the form of reduced nutrition or school attendance, and increased labour burden for example. 

Little research has been conducted previously into how different members of a household are impacted by animal disease. In this project, I uncovered what is currently known about the intra-household burden of animal disease in Ethiopia, providing knowledge and recommendations to GBADs to further their work in estimating the global burden of animal disease.  

This Ph.D. project was conduct with the Zoonoses in Livestock in Kenya (ZooLink) project of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Busia, Kenya. Increased demand for livestock products in Kenya is leading to the intensification and commercialisation of livestock production in places like Busia, an area with a high livestock-to-human population ratio, and where livestock are a vital component to livelihoods. Whilst the primary aim of ZooLink was to enable Kenya to develop an effective surveillance programme for zoonoses, my role was to uncover the financial risks people take in pursuit of livestock intensification, and the impact this has on livelihoods.