One of the key activities this month has been finalising the locations for the main fieldwork. Our main criteria is to carry out the survey in locations primarily populated by Arsi Oromo, as FGM/C is more prevalent among these populations than among other ethnic groups. Through local contacts several kebeles (districts) have been identified, and Eshetu has been talking with local government administrators to obtain population information for these kebeles at the zone and household level. Through this process we have identified an appropriate location, which consists of three neighboring zones which in total will give us the necessary sample size for our analysis. Although they are remote, we hope that travel time for the enumerators will be reduced as all households to be sampled are concentrated in a small geographic area. The necessary research permissions from local authorities have been obtained.
Other activities this month have included quite a lot of practical but time consuming matters such as sorting out bank transfers, obtaining permissions, and getting the refined questionnaires translated and ready for printing.
A recent covid surge in Ethiopia is a concern and this may affect the timing of the fieldwork.