Dr. Sherril Masudi: Shaping Healthier Ecosystems
Dr Sherril Masudi (Photo Source: WILDLABS)
Have you ever wondered what happens to vegetation after a fire’s been put out? When Sherril Masudi began the exploration of this research question in 2018, she least expected to wander into the triangular world of ‘one health’, where human health is dependent on both animal and environmental health. At the time, she’d earned her training as a vet and was set to use her expertise to improve both livestock and wildlife health, but this project broadened her perspective by giving her insights on conservation.
In Kenya where Sherril comes from, there are a number of natural areas that have been marked as fire zones. In some of these unoccupied spaces, wildlife and livestock can be found grazing at different intervals. Access to pasture should ideally suffice, but as Sherril would find, quality exceeds quantity. And so bushfires do more than affect the quality of air; they affect the quality of soil and thus the quality of vegetation.
By undertaking this study, Sherril unlocked a career milestone. Her approach not only considered animals’ nutrition, but would subsequently contribute to improved food security for pastoralists and many others. It was a welcome surprise to learn that her findings were adopted in ranches around the country.
Two degrees down by then, it felt only right to go after one more. Sherril sought a scholarship to pursue a PhD in wildlife ecology. Ever intentional, this time she sought to unpack the various layers of public health in this sector. Although she’s still on this journey at Wageningen University and Research, she’s working out of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Nairobi, where she is assessing the public health risks of bushmeat trade and consumption in the Nairobi metropolitan area. It’s worth noting that the Kenyan capital has a population of approximately 4.4 million people as per the census conducted in 2019.
As Dr. Sherril draws more data and theories on this matter, she pulls from her understanding of one health and fits it as a piece into a larger puzzle on food systems. In short, she’s essentially championing safer food systems to mitigate potential pandemics from this illegal trade.
But what about prohibiting bushmeat trade altogether? She notes that efforts to ban wild meat trade are doing the opposite of the intended, and as more trade happens so does the increase in health risks because food safety is not a priority.
Stepping into this fraction of sustainable urban development has opened more opportunities for our Kenyan vet to build her knowledge as she flexes her technical muscle. In 2023 she enrolled for a conservation technology programme by WILDLABS East Africa, and formed the first cohort of a programme supporting East African women in conservation technology.
Dr. Sherril may be viewed as a vessel towards one health, or perhaps an expert improving food systems for animals and humans. But ultimately her work remains fundamental in improving Kenya’s National Climate Change Framework Policy.
This story has been developed by SHE Changes Climate as part of a broader conservation series titled SHE for Earth. The series highlights narratives of women in all their diversity driving conservation efforts.