Babati District Research Articles

Institutional Change and Institutional Performance Under Decentralized Forest Management in Babati District, Tanzania

In the last three decades, self-governed robust institutions and design principles were emphasized for effective management of the commons including forests. However, little attention was given to institutional change and institutional performance. This paper addresses the relationship between institutional change and institutional performance under decentralized forest management (DFM) in Babati District, Tanzania. It is demonstrated that both constitutional and operational changes occurred under DFM in Babati. Institutional changes were found to be associated with improved condition of forest resources, good governance and sustainable livelihoods. However, cash income accrued from forests under DFM did not improve. Theoretically, a framework of multiple institutional logics of action was found more capable of explaining institutional change and institutional performance than Ostrom’s rational choice institutionalism and design principles.

The Influence of Leadership on Good Governance: The Case of Selected Villages in Rungwe and Babati District Councils in Tanzania

This study was about how leadership influences good governance in selected villages in Tanzania. This area was selected because there are few academic articles and publications that dwell on leadership and governance in areas beyond and below the administrative districts in the country. The management studies on administrative divisions, wards, villages and vitongoji in respect of leadership and governance issues are not systematically and deliberately conducted.The main objective of the study was to understand ‘how leadership influences good governance at village levels’. Its objectives included (i) to examine leaders’ behaviour in four selected villages, (ii) to determine factors affecting leaders’ behavior (iii) to examine the effect of leadership behaviour on good governance, (iv) to identify environmental factors affecting leadership performance. The study used cross-sectional design whereby data were collected at a single point in time. The target population of the study consisted of all households in Rungwe and Babati Districts. The sub-sampling frames which were used in this study were obtained from the village offices. One sub-sampling frame consisted of village council members, another sub-sampling frame consisted of villagers and the last sampling frame consisted of leaders (Village executive officers and village chairpersons). At the regional level purposive sampling was used to select the districts which were assumed of exercising good leadership and those villages which were assumed of exercising bad leadership. The wards selected in Rungwe District were Mpandapanda and Lubanda. The wards selected in Babati District were Matufa and Magala. This made a total of four wards, two from semi urban and two from rural areas. Simple random sampling was used to select the villagers who were included in the sample. Purposive sampling was used to select key informants of this study. The criterion of choosing the key informants was either being a leader in the ward or being a village council member. Therefore, the key informants of the study included: Village executive members, village chairpersons and village council members of the four selected villages. The researchers conducted the focus group discussions from the four selected villages which were included in the study. In each village the researchers conducted two focus group discussions to the villagers. A sample size of 125 households was selected and included in the sample. This included 80 households who were only villagers from the four selected villages and 45 people who were members of the village council from the four villages. Qualitative method was used to analyze the in depth interviews. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages were determined and the information was presented in form of tables. The findings indicate that leaders behave differently basing on circumstance. Leaders demonstrate both transformational and transactional qualities although at different degrees. The study reveals that the factors which affect leaders’ behavior include education and experiences, culture and follower’s behavior. The effects of leadership behavior have been measured based on participation which is an aspect of good governance. The study also identified environmental factors which affect leadership performance as politics, lack of resources and shortage of qualified staff. The study recommends that awareness should be created to people on the importance of participating on different development activities from planning to implementation.

Tungiasis in Northern Tanzania: a clinical report from Qameyu village, Babati District, Manyara Region.

Tungiasis is an infestation caused by the penetration in the skin of the gravid female of the flea Tunga penetrans (T. penetrans). The current epidemiological situation of tungiasis in Eastern Africa is poorly known. We present the results of a cross-sectional study on tungiasis which was carried out in Qameyu (Northern Tanzania). Sixty-two schoolchildren with suspected cases of tungiasis were examined. Location, number, morphology and symptoms associated with T. penetrans infestation were recorded for each patient. A total of 62 schoolchildren (38 males and 24 females), with ages ranging from 6 to 14 years, were examined. Sixty children were infested by T. penetrans. A total of 865 lesions were observed: 170 lesions were vital and 695 were non-vital. The first and the fifth toes were especially involved. The highest number of lesions observed in a single patient was more than 55 lesions. Pain was reported by 42 children, itching by 39 and difficult walking by 28. One child presented with fever which was considered to be caused by superinfected tungiasis. Complications were nail dystrophy (48 patients), deformity of the fingers or toes (12 patients), scarring (4 patients) and nail loss (4 patients). Thirteen children needed oral antibiotic therapy because of bacterial superinfections. Tungiasis is a public health concern in this region of Tanzania and it is associated with high morbidity. Improvement in housing hygiene, confining domestic animals and increasing the knowledge of the disease via health education are measures that should be taken to control the disease.

High seroprevalence of echinococossis, schistosomiasis and toxoplasmosis among the populations in Babati and Monduli districts, Tanzania.

BackgroundThe neglected tropical diseases, echinococcosis, schistosomiasis and toxoplasmosis are all globally widespread zoonotic diseases with potentially harmful consequences. There is very limited data available on the prevalence of these infections, except for schistosmiasis, in underdeveloped countries. This study aimed to determine the seroprevalence of Echinococcus multilocularis, Schistosoma mansoni, and Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in populations from the Monduli and Babati districts in Tanzania.MethodsA total of 345 blood samples were collected from 160 and 185 randomly selected households from Babati and Monduli districts, Tanzania between February and May of 2012 and analyzed them using the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. The antibodies were determined using the NovaLisa® Toxoplasma gondii IgG, NovaLisa® Schistosoma Mansoni IgG, NovaLisa® Echinococcus IgG and NovaLisa® Toxoplasma gondii IgM kits (Novatec, Germany).ResultsThe seropositivity estimated for E. multilocularis, S. mansoni, and T. gondii IgG was 11.3% (95% confidence interval (CI): 7.96 - 14.6), 51.3% (95% CI: 46.0 - 56.5), and 57.68% (95% CI: 52.5 - 62.9), respectively. The seropositivity for T. gondii IgM was 11.3% (95% CI: 7.96 - 14.6). Living in the Monduli district was found to be the main risk factor for IgG seropositivity for both schistosomiasis (OR =1.94; 95% CI: 1.23 - 3.08; p =0.005) and toxoplasmosis (OR =2.09; 95% CI: 1.31-3.33; p =0.002).ConclusionsThese results suggest that restricting disease transmission, implementing control measures, and introducing training projects to increase public awareness are imperative, particularly for the Monduli district.

Magnitude of HIV infection among older people in Mufindi and Babati districts of the Tanzania mainland.

IntroductionAccording to the 2011–2012 HIV and Malaria Indicator Survey, the prevalence of HIV infection in Tanzania is 5.1%, with limited information on its magnitude among older people, as the community believes that the elderly are not at risk. Consequently, little attention is given to the fight against HIV and AIDS in this group. The present study investigated the magnitude of HIV and AIDS infection among older people in rural and urban areas of the Tanzania mainland.Subjects and methodsThe study was conducted in Mufindi and Babati districts of Iringa and Manyara regions, respectively, through multistage sampling procedures. Dried blood spot cards were used to collect blood samples for HIV testing among consenting participants. HIV testing was done and retested using different enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits.ResultsA total of 720 individuals, 340 (47.2%) males and 380 (52.8%) females, were randomly selected, of whom 714 (99.2%) consented to HIV testing while six (0.8%) refused to donate blood. The age ranged from 50 to 98 years, with a mean age of 64.2 years. Overall, a total of 56 (7.8%) participants were HIV-positive. Females had a higher prevalence (8.3%) than males (7.4%), with Mufindi district recording the higher rate (11.3%) compared to the 3.7% of Babati district. The prevalence was higher in the rural population (9.4%) compared to 6.4% of their urban counterparts.ConclusionAlthough HIV/AIDS is considered a disease of individuals aged 15–49 years, the overall prevalence among the older people aged 50 years and above for Mufindi and Babati districts was higher than the national prevalence in the general population. These findings point to the need to consider strengthening interventions targeting older populations against HIV/AIDS in these districts while establishing evidence countrywide to inform policy decisions.

High seroprevalence of echinococossis, schistosomiasis and toxoplasmosis among the populations in Babati and Monduli districts, Tanzania

High seroprevalence of echinococossis, schistosomiasis and toxoplasmosis among the populations in Babati and Monduli districts, Tanzania

Public Knowledge, Perceptions and Practices in Relation to Infectious and other Communicable Diseases in Tanzania: Lessons Learnt from Babati District

Background: We report public knowledge, perceptions and practices on selected infectious diseases in Tanzania using a study done in Babati district, and identify policy related messages in light of health promotion strategies instituted for communicable disease control. Methods: Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with individual household members and focus group discussions with other residents in several villages; in-depth interviews with health workers, local government leaders, and district health managers. Results: Many villagers associated malaria transmission with people’s exposure to intense sunrays; TB and brucellosis with people drinking raw-milk, animal blood and meat; sharing a bed or utensils with TB/brucellosis patients; TB with smoking or inhaling cigarette smoke; leprosy with witchcraft; and lymphatic filariasis and schistosomiasis with people contacting dirty-water or through sexual intercourse. Occasional shortage of drugs and laboratory services, lack of reliable transport facilities, low public use of latrines, unaffordable bednet prices, and common sale of counterfeit drugs by unregulated retailers were perceived to perpetuate the existence and widespread communicable diseases. Use of traditional medicines to treat these diseases was reported to be a common practice. Conclusion: Culturally rooted knowledge and beliefs about diseases influence people’s health care seeking practices and may perpetuate prevalence and transmission of diseases. There should be educational policy program considerations among the strategies aimed at effective disease control.Key words: Communicable diseases; psycho-social, health care-seeking behaviour; Tanzania

Sources of Technical Efficiency Among Smallholders Maize Farmers in Babati District, Tanzania

Maize yield in Tanzania has been decreasing in the past few years. The decline has been attributed to many factors. This paper assesses production efficiency and its determinants among maize farmers in Babati district. The paper uses data collected from 122 maize farmers residing in six villages in the study district. A stochastic frontier model has been used to determine the sources of inefficiency among maize farmers in the study area. The results show that the mean technical efficiency score for famers in the study area is 62.3%. This implies that there is a significant room for increasing maize yield in the study area if farmers use the resources at their disposal efficiently. Moreover, the results show that the efficiency of maize farmers in the study area is influenced by farm size, formal education, number of plots owned by the farmer, frequency of contacts with extension officers, and the use of insecticides. It is therefore plausible to argue that improving farmers’ access to extension services and important inputs such as insecticides will have a significant influence on maize yield in the study area.

Evolution and Diversification of Community Forestry Regimes in Babati District, Tanzania

Since the 1980s many tropical countries have promoted community forestry (CF). Gradually, various forms of community forest management regimes were developed in response to decentralization processes in the forest administration or the government administration. The emergence of community forestry regime (CFR) complexes and their evolutionary pathways have still been little explored. In Tanzania, Babati District is a pioneer in the development of CF. This paper assesses how emergence of a CFR complex is related to dynamic institutional interactions at local community level and bureaucratic level. It is demonstrated that evolution and diversity of CF regimes is associated with (a) a partial bureaucratic deconcentration of the government’s administrative authority over forests from national level to district level, and (b) democratic decentralization in the form of a partial devolution of formal management authority over forests from governmental authorities to local communities and individual people. Also, it is shown that endogenous changes in the norms and principles of the traditional systems of indigenous forest management occurred, calling for formulation of policy objectives that help to sustain local management practices.

Looking through an equity and inclusion lens in Tanzania: the experience of WaterAid

Globally, 780 million people still do not have access to safe water and 2.5 billion lack improved sanitation. Since its inception, WaterAid has been deeply committed to issues of equity, choosing to work in some of the poorest countries in Africa and Asia, and within these, to work with people who are marginalised. In Tanzania, WaterAid has been using an equity and inclusion approach to ensure that the most marginalised people have access to safe water and sanitation. This article draws on WaterAid's experience of implementing an inclusive water and sanitation project in Bashnet, Babati district, Manyara region, Tanzania. Specifically, lessons from this project highlight the ability of the equity and inclusion approach to better understand and meet the water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) needs of women and girls, as well as other groups who are often excluded.

Defining malaria burden from morbidity and mortality records, self treatment practices and serological data in Magugu, Babati District, northern Tanzania.

Malaria morbidity and mortality data from clinical records provide essential information towards defining disease burden in the area and for planning control strategies, but should be augmented with data on transmission intensity and serological data as measures for exposure to malaria. The objective of this study was to estimate the malaria burden based on serological data and prevalence of malaria, and compare it with existing self-treatment practices in Magugu in Babati District of northern Tanzania. Prospectively, 470 individuals were selected for the study. Both microscopy and Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) were used for malaria diagnosis. Seroprevalence of antibodies to merozoite surface proteins (MSP-1(19)) and apical membrane antigen (AMA-1) was performed and the entomological inoculation rate (EIR) was estimated. To complement this information, retrospective data on treatment history, prescriptions by physicians and use of bed nets were collected. Malaria prevalence in the area was 6.8% (32/470). Of 130 individuals treated with artemisinin combination therapy (ACT), 22.3% (29/130) were slide confirmed while 75.3% (98/130) of them were blood smear negative. Three of the slides confirmed individuals were not treated with ACT. Fever was reported in 38.2% of individuals, of whom 48.8% (88/180) were given ACT. Forty-two (32.3%) of those who received ACT had no history of fever. About half (51.1%) of those treated with ACT were children < 10 years old. Immunoglobulin against MSP-119 was positive in 16.9% (74/437) while against AMA-1 was positive in 29.8% (130/436). Transmission intensity was estimated at <0.2 infectious bites per person per year. The RDT was highly specific (96.3%) but with low sensitivity (15.6%). In conclusion, Magugu is a low endemic area. There is substantial over diagnosis, over treatment and self treatment in the community. The burden of malaria based on medical records is over estimated as was mostly presumptive. The low sensitivity of RDT reflects the low number of immune individuals as well as the low parasite density.

Transmission intensity and malaria vector population structure in Magugu, Babati District in northern Tanzania

A 1-year longitudinal study was conducted in Magugu in Babati district, northern Tanzania to determine malaria vector population structure and malaria transmission indices. Mosquitoes were sampled using the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) light traps. A total of 110,357 adult female mosquitoes were collected. Anopheles gambiae s.1. accounted 25% of the total female mosquito collected. Relatively fewer An. funestus were collected. Other mosquito species collected were An. pharoensis, An. coustani, An. maculipalpis, An. marshallii, Culex quinquefasciatus, Cx unnivittatus, Mansonia uniformis and Ma. africana. An analysis by Polymerase Chain Reaction revealed that An. arabiensis was the only member of the An. gambiae complex in the collected samples. The number of mosquito collected correlated with the increasing mean rainfall. Blood meal analysis showed a higher human enzymatic reaction among An. gambiae s.1. (63.5%) followed by An. funestus (42.9%). Bovine enzymatic reaction was higher among An. coustani (73.7%) followed by the An. pharoensis (66.7%). The Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) was used to detect Plasmodium falciparum circumsporozoites proteins in 10,000 female Anopheles mosquitoes. Only two An. arabiensis were found to be infected. The entomological inoculation rate (EIR) was estimated at 0.51 infectious bites per person per year. This EIR was considered to be relatively low, indicating that malaria transmission in this area is low. Variability in mosquito blood meal shows availability of variety of preferred blood meal choices and impact of other factors inhibiting mosquito-human host contact. The study has provided information considered useful in the mapping of the vector distribution and population structure in the country. Such information is considered to be among the essential tools for planning malaria control interventions.

Conservation agriculture (CA) in Tanzania: the case of the Mwangaza B CA farmer field school (FFS), Rhotia Village, Karatu District, Arusha

This project was initiated to promote conservation agriculture (CA) in Tanzania so as to improve the food security and rural livelihood of small- and medium-scale farmers through the scaling-up of CA as a sustainable land management (SLM) tool as well as increasing the numbers of SLM-CA farmer field schools (FFS) in communities. The project had two phases from 2004 to 2010. It was funded by a Government of Germany trust fund and implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Ministry of Agriculture in Tanzania. The project pilot districts include Arumeru (Arusha and Meru Councils), Karatu, Babati, Hanang and Moshi districts. CA has been shown to offer positive elements that could contribute to fighting hunger and poverty.

Non-timber Forest Products and their Contribution to Poverty Alleviation and Forest Conservation in Mbulu and Babati Districts-Tanzania

KEYWORDS Forest Utilization. Sustainable Forest Management. Forest Resources. Policy ABSTRACT This paper presents findings on the contribution of Non-timber Forest Products towards poverty alleviation and sustainable forest management. It draws results from Nou-Catchment Forest Reserve, Dareda and Dohom Village Land Forest Reserves (VLFRs), in Mbulu and Babati Districts, Manyara region, Tanzania. Data were collected from eight villages, four from each District using participatory rural appraisal, structured interviews, focused group discussion and baseline data from FARM Africa Babati, Tanzania. Results revealed that NTFPs have significant role, particularly fire wood (92%), fodder (63%) and bee keeping activities (40%). Environmental goods and services (40%), construction materials and medicinal plants are also remarkable. This indicated significant contribution in income and non-income poverty reduction and thus, incentive for sustainable forest management. However, the collection trend varied from different forest and management regimes, (65%) National forest reserve, Village forest (31%), and small quantity in Village general lands (5%). The findings also highlight constraint to their exploitation and policy implications of Non-timber Forest Products towards poverty reduction and sustainable forest management. It must be mentioned, however that, there is a need for policy and legislation framework to guarantee more impact on poverty reduction and sustainable forest management.

THE ROLE OF LIVESTOCK KEEPING IN HUMAN BRUCELLOSIS TRENDS IN LIVESTOCK KEEPING COMMUNITIES IN TANZANIA

A cross-sectional survey was carried out in Karatu and Ngorongoro districts in Arusha region and Babati, Hanang and Mbulu districts in Manyara region involving 20 agro-pastoral and 9 pastoral villages, to establish the magnitude of human brucellosis in relation to livestock brucellosis. A multistage random sampling was used to select villages, sub-village administrative units, ten cell leadership units and animal keeping households. A total of 460 humans from 90 families (19 pastoral and 71 agro-pastoral families) and 2723 domestic ruminants from 90 livestock households were sampled and bled to obtain serum samples for analysis. A competitive enzyme linked-immunosorbent assay (c-ELISA) was used to analyse these samples to detect brucella circulating antibodies. The overall livestock seroprevalence was 5.7% with 32.2% of livestock households being seropositive whereas, human seropositivity was 8.3% with 28% family households being seropositive. The highest proportion of seropositive families was observed in Ngorongoro district (46%) and the lowest in Babati district with no seropositive family household. Family members in seropositive livestock households were 3.3 (OR) times more likely to be seropositive than those with seronegative livestock households. However; 25% of seronegative family households had seropositive livestock households and 48% seropositive family households had seronegative livestock households.Therefore, Brucella infection is widespread in the human populations and their livestock in the northern Tanzania and thus humans may acquire infection from their own animals or from other sources thus prompted public health awareness creation in such communities.

Emergency referral transport needs of pregnant women in rural Tanzania

For pregnant women in rural Africa, delays in reaching a health facility are inevitable. When complications occur, unless transport is found quickly to reach a facility providing essential obstetric care promptly, morbidity and mortality are common outcomes. The study aimed to explore the emergency transport needs of rural pregnant women in Erri village, Babati District, Tanzania. Communities were selected purposefully. A crosssectional design was used, 250 women of childbearing age were interviewed, 12 men and 12 women participated in focus group discussions (FGD), and 7 women were interviewed using the critical incidence technique. Information on community awareness of women's needs for locally available and functional transport for emergency obstetrics referrals was obtained using a structured questionnaire, FGD and critical incident interviews. The questionnaire revealed that 75% of women with 7 years of school in this study, were more likely to seek help from the district hospital than women with 5 or fewer years of schooling. Women who lived nearer to emergency obstetric facilitates were more likely to use these facilitates than those living far away. Having a bicycle in a household did not influence the woman's decision about where to seek help during an emergency. Seventy percent of respondents (43/61) who used a bicycle revealed that when women encounter emergencies it takes more than half a day to reach the district hospital. Almost every participant declared the hardship in accessing emergency obstetric care related to lack of funds and unavailability of the transport. During FGD women shared stories of mothers and newborns who had died on their way to emergency obstetric care. The study provides a small insight into the referral transport needs of pregnant women living in rural communities in Manyara region. Further participatory research is necessary to identify reliable and affordable transport options acceptable to pregnant women and their families; and evaluation is required to estimate the impact of emergency referral programmes on referral times and operational feasibility.

Bio-efficacy of diazinon (0.0 diethyl 0-(-2-isopropyl-6-methyl-4-pyrimidnyl) phosphorothioate) against &lt;i&gt;Cimex &lt;/i&gt;and&lt;i&gt; Pediculus&lt;/i&gt; species at a Social Welfare camp, Magugu, Babati District, northern Tanzania

Bio-efficacy of diazinon (0.0 diethyl 0-(-2-isopropyl-6-methyl-4-pyrimidnyl) phosphorothioate) against &lt;i&gt;Cimex &lt;/i&gt;and&lt;i&gt; Pediculus&lt;/i&gt; species at a Social Welfare camp, Magugu, Babati District, northern Tanzania

HIV/ AIDS information flow and access: experiences from Babati district, Tanzania

This paper is based on an empirical study of the flow and access to HIV/AIDS information in the Babati District of Manyara region in Tanzania. The study integrated both qualitative and quantitative research designs. A sample of 131 respondents comprising of 50 male and 81 female was conveniently selected from three villages in Dareda ward. Primary data was collected using face to face interviews, focus group discussion, dissemination workshop, and in depth interviews with key informants. Findings revealed that the provision of HIV/AIDS information in the study area is undertaken by multiple agencies including: the district council, village governments, private and public health institutions, civil society organizations, schools, faith based organizations and other community-based organizations. The data showed that access to HIV/AIDS information is through radio; television and video show programmes, newspapers, oral presentations in schools and clinics, and various types of meetings. Other delivery methods include posters, songs, dances, and dramas. The findings revealed that, while information on HIV/AIDS prevention was available, limited information was available on care and support of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). Furthermore, access to current and up to date information on all aspects of HIV/AIDS was found to be problematic. Generally, HIV/AIDS information system and structure at local level was found to be inadequate. Major challenges that limit access to and flow of HIV/AIDS information include low levels of education, language barriers, lack of information and library services, limited access to radio, television programmes, and newspapers. Family structures were also found to inhibit the free flow of HIV/AIDS information between parents and children. University of Dar es Salaam Library Journal Vol. 8 (1&2) 2006: pp. 49-59

Seasonal epidemiological variation of human African trypanosomiasis in Babati District, Tanzania

Seasonal epidemiological variation of human African trypanosomiasis in Babati District, Tanzania

Exploratory Study of Malaria Situation in Hanang and Babati Districts after Reported Malaria Epidemic: III. Socio-Economic Factors

Exploratory Study of Malaria Situation in Hanang and Babati Districts after Reported Malaria Epidemic: III. Socio-Economic Factors