BY THE ARUSHA NEWS REPORTER
Doctors in the northern zone have recommended linking disease warnings to locally understood seasonal experiences, such as drought, flooding, water scarcity and livestock movements, instead of waiting to react to epidemics caused by climate change.
A peer-reviewed research paper, published on July 14, 2026 in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, found that residents and health workers understood how dry and rainy seasons affected disease transmission, but rarely connected those experiences directly to climate change.
“climate change will alter the distribution and incidence of diseases affecting communities in Tanzania,” warned authors Chris G. Buse, Emmanuel Sulle, Epiphania Ngowi, Laurie Kidayi, Michelle Lavrov, Alais Ole Morindat and Kahabi G. Isangula in a study titled: Enhancing risk communication for climate-sensitive neglected tropical diseases in Northern Tanzania.
In Monduli, participants in the study said people and livestock frequently shared surface-water sources during dry periods. As drought continued, the available water became increasingly vulnerable to contamination.
Rainy periods were associated with amoebiasis, diarrhoea illnesses and infections linked to contaminated floodwater. Health practitioners also connected dry weather with trachoma and heavy rains with intestinal worms and schistosomiasis, commonly known as bilharzia.
A Monduli veterinarian reported that worms became particularly visible among cattle and goats during periods of heavy rainfall, saying “the worm infestation… has been much larger” than during dry conditions.
The study identified soil-transmitted worms, eye infections, fever, pain and fatigue causing bacterial infections that jump from animals to humans and some rare but serious parasitic diseases caused by tiny tape worms. Rabies, cholera, typhoid and other diseases were also discussed.
However, more alarmingly was that the researchers found that health information was often reactive, fragmented and not delivered at the periods when communities faced the greatest seasonal risks.
The researchers were affiliated with Simon Fraser University in Canada, Aga Khan University’s Arusha Climate and Environmental Research Centre, Arkaria Impact Centre in Monduli and other academic institutions.
They held five focus-group discussions involving 44 community members and interviewed 13 doctors, nurses, veterinarians and health administrators. The interviews were conducted in Arusha and Monduli between May and July 2024.
They identified radio campaigns, village meetings, worship services, schools and trusted community leaders as important channels for delivering health information, particularly in rural areas with limited internet and smartphone access.
