BACKGROUND: Climate change threatens youth mental health through multiple mechanisms, yet empirical studies typically focus on single pathways. We explored feelings of distress over climate change among Tanzanian youth, considering associations with climate change awareness and climate-sensitive risk factors, and assessed how these factors relate to mental health. METHODS: Tanzanian youth (aged 18-23 years) from a cluster randomised controlled trial in Mbeya and Iringa regions of Tanzania were interviewed between Jan 25, and March 3, 2021, and included in this cross-sectional study. A threshold of at least 10 on the ten-item Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale was used to classify symptom severity indicative of depression. Regardless of climate change awareness, respondents were asked about their feelings of distress on climate change using inclusive language (changing weather patterns or changing seasons). We estimated rate differences in climate change distress (slight or moderate or extreme vs none) by youth characteristics, extent of climate awareness, and climate-sensitive livelihoods (eg, agriculture, tending livestock) and climate-sensitive living conditions (eg, food or water insecurity), using generalised linear models. We compared depression prevalence by extent of climate change distress and climate-sensitive living conditions. FINDINGS: Among 2053 youth (1123 [55%] were male and 930 [45%] were female) included in this analysis, 946 (46%) had reported any distress about climate change. Distress was higher among female, more educated, more religious, older youth, and those working in extreme temperatures. Adjusting for climate awareness-a factor strongly associated with climate distress-helped to explain some of these associations. Depression was 23 percentage points (95% CI 17-28) higher among youth who had severe water insecurity than those who did not. Similarly, youth who had severe food insecurity had 23 percentage points higher depression (95% CI 17-28) compared with those who did not. Those reporting climate change distress also had worse mental health-extremely distressed youth had 18 percentage points (95% CI 6-30) higher depression than those reporting none. INTERPRETATION: Living in conditions worsened by climate change and feeling distressed over climate change have mental health implications among young people from low-resource settings, indicating that climate change can impact youth mental health through multiple pathways. FUNDING: Erasmus Trustfonds, Centre for Global Health Inequalities Research, UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office, Oak Foundation, UNICEF, UK’s Department of International Development, the Swedish Development Cooperation Agency, Irish Aid.
Small-scale farmers are vulnerable to changes in climate and face challenges that affect their livelihoods. The recommended alternatives for adaptation are limited. Our study in Kilombero Valley has yielded results on the factors that impact livelihood vulnerability. Using a variety of methods such as household surveys, Likert scaling, key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and direct field observations, we were able to gather comprehensive data. The study shows that the vulnerability and ability to adapt to changing circumstances among small-scale farmers depend on factors such as time, assets, and the type of income they generate. Most residents of Kilombero Valley face a range of challenges in their daily lives, including socioeconomic, political, technological, and health-related issues, which can all affect their household assets. The scarcity of resources, especially wetlands, which are crucial for livelihoods, has led to conflicts that are worsened by population growth, climate change, and politics. To ensure the sustainability of small-scale farmers’ livelihoods, it is essential to address these conflicts and manage natural resources effectively. The policies, plans, and programs for adaptation in Kilombero fail to consider various long-term pressures. This is because the community and individual families have limited capacity to adapt, which makes some of the measures taken to combat climate and non-climate shocks ineffective or detrimental. Therefore, it is essential to exercise caution when designing solutions for multiple stresses in rural areas to prevent maladaptation.
Background: Plasmodium ovale is a neglected malarial parasite that can form latent hypnozoites in the human liver. Over the last decade, molecular surveillance studies of non-falciparum malaria in Africa have highlighted that P. ovale is circulating below the radar, including areas where Plasmodium falciparum is in decline. To eliminate malaria where P. ovale is endemic, a better understanding of its epidemiology, asymptomatic carriage, and transmission biology is needed. Methods: We performed a pilot study on P. ovale transmission as part of an ongoing study of human-to-mosquito transmission of P. falciparum from asymptomatic carriers. To characterize the malaria asymptomatic reservoir, cross-sectional qPCR surveys were conducted in Bagamoyo, Tanzania, over three transmission seasons. Positive individuals were enrolled in transmission studies of P. falciparum using direct skin feeding assays (DFAs) with Anopheles gambiae s.s. (IFAKARA strain) mosquitoes. For a subset of participants who screened positive for P. ovale on the day of DFA, we incubated blood-fed mosquitoes for 14 days to assess sporozoite development. Results: Molecular surveillance of asymptomatic individuals revealed a P. ovale prevalence of 11% (300/2718), compared to 29% (780/2718) for P. falciparum. Prevalence for P. ovale was highest at the beginning of the long rainy season (15.5%, 128/826) in contrast to P. falciparum, which peaked later in both the long and short rainy seasons. Considering that these early-season P. ovale infections were low-density mono-infections (127/128), we speculate many were due to hypnozoite-induced relapse. Six of eight P. ovale-infected asymptomatic individuals who underwent DFAs successfully transmitted P. ovale parasites to A. gambiae. Conclusions: Plasmodium ovale is circulating at 4-15% prevalence among asymptomatic individuals in coastal Tanzania, largely invisible to field diagnostics. A different seasonal peak from co-endemic P. falciparum, the capacity to relapse, and efficient transmission to Anopheles vectors likely contribute to its persistence amid control efforts focused on P. falciparum.
Addressing the fallouts of a +1.5 degrees C world is one of the key challenges for urban management in African cities. This article reports a work dealing with climate adaptation in informal urban settlements, with focus on responses to heat stress among the urban poor. The study involved a survey of 405 residents in Keko Machungwa -an unplanned neighborhood in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. We found that the most popular behavioral responses are taking a shower, wearing light clothing,. drinking cold drinks, and opening doors and windows. The rarest forms of responses are swimming and contributing to savings group. Heat-related health problems experienced by the residents were also identified. Enhancing human responses to heat stress will involve improvement in basic services and infrastructure, awareness, and education among the residents.
In 2018, 70% of global fatalities due to pneumonia occurred in about fifteen countries, with Tanzania being among the top eight countries contributing to these deaths. Environmental and individual factors contributing to these deaths may be multifaceted, but they have not yet been explored in Tanzania. Therefore, in this study, we explore the association between climate change and the occurrence of pneumonia in the Tanga Region, Tanzania. A time series study design was employed using meteorological and health data of the Tanga Region collected from January 2016 to December 2018 from the Tanzania Meteorological Authority and Health Management Information System, respectively. The generalized negative binomial regression technique was used to explore the associations between climate indicators (i.e., precipitation, humidity, and temperature) and the occurrence of pneumonia. There were trend differences in climate indicators and the occurrence of pneumonia between the Tanga and Handeni districts. We found a positive association between humidity and increased rates of non-severe pneumonia (incidence rate ratio (IRR) = 1.01; 95% CI: 1.01-1.02; p ≤ 0.05) and severe pneumonia (IRR = 1.02; 95% CI: 1.01-1.03; p ≤ 0.05). There was also a significant association between cold temperatures and the rate of severe pneumonia in Tanga (IRR = 1.21; 95% CI: 1.11-1.33; p ≤ 0.001). Other factors that were associated with pneumonia included age and district of residence. We found a positive relationship between humidity, temperature, and incidence of pneumonia in the Tanga Region. Policies focusing on prevention and control, as well as promotion strategies relating to climate change-related health effects should be developed and implemented.
BACKGROUND: Depression has substantial and enduring impacts for adolescents, particularly those living in poverty. Yet, evidence on its determinants in low-income countries remains scarce. We examined the social determinants of depressive symptoms for Tanzanian adolescents. METHODS: We used cross-sectional data for 2458 adolescents (aged 14-19), to describe associations with depressive symptoms within and across five domains-demographic, economic, neighbourhood, environmental and social-cultural-using linear mixed models. We estimated depressive symptoms using the 10-item Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, which ranges from 0 to 30 and increases with additional symptoms. RESULTS: Factors associated with depressive symptoms in the fully adjusted models included experiencing five or more household economic shocks (β=2.40; 95% CI 1.48 to 3.32), experiencing droughts/floods (β=0.76; 95% CI 0.36 to 1.17), being in a relationship (β=1.82; 95% CI 1.30 to 2.33), and having moderate (β=1.26; 95% CI 0.80 to 1.71) or low (β=2.27; 95% CI 1.81 to 2.74) social support. Exclusive schooling was protective compared with being engaged in both school and paid work (β=1.07; 95% CI 0.05 to 2.61) and not engaged in either (β=0.73; 95% CI 0.24 to 1.22). Household size and relationship status were more important factors for girls, while employment status, and extreme precipitation were more important for boys. CONCLUSION: Mental health is associated with determinants from multiple domains. Results suggest that environmental shocks related to climate change contribute to poor mental health in adolescents, highlighting an important area for intervention and research.
African pastoralists are undergoing significant changes in livelihood strategies, from predominantly mobile pastoralism to agro-pastoralism in which both livestock raising and cultivation of crops are practiced, to agropastoralism combined with wage labor and petty trade. These changes often result in fixed settlements or a process known as sedentarization. Previous research indicates that sedentarization and increased climate variability are prominent forces shaping livelihood opportunities and constraints in East Africa, but the effects of these co-occurring processes have yet to be investigated. This paper develops theory, using qualitative data collected in Morogoro and Tanga Regions of Tanzania, explaining the relationships between climate variability, pastoral sedentarization, livelihood outcomes, and resulting nutritional status. We observed that the co-occurring processes of increased climate variability and sedentarization among pastoralists in these regions have dramatic impacts on communities’ economic prosperity, health status, and nutritional outcomes. Due to risks associated with climate and sedentarization, land tenure policies that allow continued practice of highly mobile livelihood strategies, namely, legal recognition of collective land rights, should be adopted.
Evidence on the potential for agricultural intensification to improve nutrition has grown considerably. While small-scale irrigation is a key factor driving agricultural intensification in sub-Saharan Africa, its impact on nutrition has not yet been thoroughly explored. In this study, we assess the impact of adoption of small-scale irrigation in Ethiopia and Tanzania on household and women’s dietary diversity, as well as children’s nutrition. We use two rounds of primary data collected from irrigators and nonirrigators in Ethiopia and Tanzania. We used a panel fixed effects econometric approach to control for observed household, women and children specific characteristics as well as observed and unobserved time-invariant confounding factors. The results show that among Ethiopian households who reported having faced drought, women in irrigating households have higher Women’s Dietary Diversity Score (WDDS) compared to women in nonirrigating households. In Tanzania, women in irrigating households have higher WDDS compared to nonirrigators and the impact of irrigation on WDDS more than doubles among households facing drought. In addition, among Tanzanian households who reported having faced a drought shock, irrigating households have higher Household Dietary Diversity Score compared to nonirrigators. Children in irrigating households in Ethiopia have weight-for-height z-scores (WHZ) that are 0.87 SDs higher, on average, than WHZ of children in nonirrigating households. In Tanzania, irrigation leads to higher WHZ-scores in children under-five among households who reported having experienced a drought in the 5 years preceding the survey. The study shows small-scale irrigation has a strong effect on households’ economic access to food and on nutritional outcomes of women and children.
In the Maasai Steppe, public health and economy are threatened by African Trypanosomiasis, a debilitating and fatal disease to livestock (African Animal Trypanosomiasis -AAT) and humans (Human African Trypanosomiasis-HAT), if not treated. The tsetse fly is the primary vector for both HAT and AAT and climate is an important predictor of their occurrence and the parasites they carry. While understanding tsetse fly distribution is essential for informing vector and disease control strategies, existing distribution maps are old and were based on coarse spatial resolution data, consequently, inaccurately representing vector and disease dynamics necessary to design and implement fit-for-purpose mitigation strategies. Also, the assertion that climate change is altering tsetse fly distribution in Tanzania lacks empirical evidence. Despite tsetse flies posing public health risks and economic hardship, no study has modelled their distributions at a scale needed for local planning. This study used MaxEnt species distribution modelling (SDM) and ecological niche modeling tools to predict potential distribution of three tsetse fly species in Tanzania’s Maasai Steppe from current climate information, and project their distributions to midcentury climatic conditions under representative concentration pathways (RCP) 4.5 scenarios. Current climate results predicted that G. m. morsitans, G. pallidipes and G swynnertoni cover 19,225 km2, 7,113 km2 and 32,335 km2 and future prediction indicated that by the year 2050, the habitable area may decrease by up to 23.13%, 12.9% and 22.8% of current habitable area, respectively. This information can serve as a useful predictor of potential HAT and AAT hotspots and inform surveillance strategies. Distribution maps generated by this study can be useful in guiding tsetse fly control managers, and health, livestock and wildlife officers when setting surveys and surveillance programs. The maps can also inform protected area managers of potential encroachment into the protected areas (PAs) due to shrinkage of tsetse fly habitats outside PAs.
Using new satellite data from the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-5P system, this article investigates the spatial and temporal dynamics of vehicular traffic congestion, air pollution, and the distributional impacts on vulnerable populations in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The metro region’s rapid growth in vehicle traffic exceeds road network capacity, generating congestion, transport delays, and air pollution from excess fuel use. Dangerously high pollution levels from tailpipe emissions put the health of vulnerable residents at risk, calling for the need to adopt continuous air-quality monitoring and effective pollution control. Our results highlight significant impacts of seasonal weather and wind-speed factors on the spatial distribution and intensity of air pollution from vehicle emissions, which vary widely by area. In seasons when weather factors maximize pollution, the worst exposure occurs along the wind path of high-traffic roadways. The study identifies priority areas for reducing congestion to yield the greatest exposure reduction for young children and the elderly in poor households. This new research direction, based only on the use of free global information sources with the same coverage for all cities, offers metropolitan areas in developing regions the opportunity to benefit from the rigorous analyses traditionally limited to well-endowed cites in developing countries.
Climate change is expected to increase the prevalence of water-borne diseases especially in developing countries. Climate-resilient drinking water supplies are critical to protect communities from faecal contamination and thus against increasing disease risks. However, no quantitative assessment exists for the impacts of short-term climate variability on faecal contamination at different drinking water sources in developing countries, while existing understanding remains largely conceptual. This critical gap limits the ability to predict drinking water quality under climate change or to recommend climate-resilient water sources for vulnerable communities. This study aims to provide such quantitative understanding by investigating the relationships between faecal contamination and short-term climate variability across different types of water sources. We collected a novel dataset with over 20 months’ monitoring of weather, Escherichia coli (E. coli) and total coliforms, at 233 different water sources in three climatically different regions in Tanzania. We then took a rigorous statistical analysis with Bayesian hierarchical models, to relate both contamination occurrence and amount to climate variability. The model results explained the temporal variability in drinking water faecal contamination using climate predictors, and also revealed the climate sensitivity of faecal contamination for individual water sources. We found that: a) short-term climate variability and baseline contamination levels can explain about half the observed variability in faecal contamination (R(2) ? 0.44); b) increased contamination was most consistently related to recent heavy rainfall and high temperature across different water sources; c) unimproved water sources such as the unprotected dug wells have substantially higher climate sensitivity. Based on these results, we can expect substantial increases in drinking water contamination risks across tropical Sub-Saharan Africa and South-East Asian developing countries under a warmer climate, which highlight the urgent need of protecting vulnerable communities from the severe climate impacts.
