Participant profile: Dr Khadidja Guirsimi

More than 150 participants are in Dakar for the Regional Workshop. Among them is Dr Khadidja Guirsimi, who heads the Association for Nomadic Animal Rearing (AEN) in Chad.

"The most important issues affecting nomadic communities in Chad include education, health and maternal mortality," she said. The AEN runs 47 schools for nomadic children in Chad, from N'Djamena to the surrounding provinces. "There, children learn to write and speak French in order to give them more opportunities in life," she said.

The association also works to minimise the risks of giving birth for nomadic women. It also runs animal vaccination classes and teaches animal rearing techniques for camels, dromedaries, cows and other nomadic livestock.