Snakebite envenomation through a gender intersectionality lens in low- and middle-income countries

Abstract

Snakebite envenomation continues to affect lives globally, with >1.2 million envenomations and approximately 120 000 annual mortalities. Unfortunately, low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) contribute to >80% of these global statistics. With different targets set to minimize the impact of snakebite envenoming, such as halving the envenoming cases by 2030 from the World Health Organization (WHO), multiple initiatives are inevitable. Gender intersectionality and tropical disease research for infectious diseases of poverty, developed by the WHO, has championed the exploration of neglected diseases, stratifying them using gendered domains. However, minimal research using the gender intersectionality framework has been conducted to explore snakebite envenoming, especially among LMICs. Exploring snakebite envenomation through a gendered lens is critical in developing gender-specific interventions for the prevention and treatment of envenomation. This narrative review explores the available literature about snakebite envenomation in LMICs through a gender intersectionality lens. It provides insights into the existing gaps, especially regarding research using intersectionality frameworks and the gendered matrix. It further proposes avenues of research using these domains to understand snakebite envenomation, especially through the intersectionality lens