Enhancing risk communication for climate-sensitive neglected tropical diseases in Northern Tanzania: Integrating agropastoral community knowledge and health system strategies

Tanzania has made significant progress in reducing number of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) by using education initiatives and mass drug administration (MDA). However, as East Africa's climate continues to change, the extant NTD response face challenges as vector distribution and abundance changes in relation patterns of precipitation and increasing temperatures. This research aimed to understand community needs in NTD risk communication and how these needs align with strategies deployed by practitioners and regional health administrators in two districts in northern Tanzania: Arusha, a predominantly urban setting, and Monduli, a primarily rural and agro-pastoral community. The research team conducted an environmental scan of climate-sensitive NTD risk communication materials of relevance to the study area; five focus group discussions that engaged 44 participants from peri-urban and rural communities; and semi-structured interviews (N = 13) with doctors (N = 3), nurses (N = 3), veterinarians (N = 2) and health administrators (N = 5) in English and Swahili. This contribution identifies community preferences in receiving health risk communication materials, practitioner strategies for sharing information about NTDs, and discusses opportunities for action to marry these priorities in the context of the region's changing climate. Findings suggest key tensions in community needs versus information being provided, and considerable resource disparities and needs between urban and rural populations.