Patterns of sexually transmitted infections in adolescents and youth in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

BACKGROUND: Syndromic management of STIs has been advocated as simplified and cheap approach. Youth have been reported to be at increased risk of acquiring STIs which can facilitate HIV transmission. We have investigated the relationship between the syndromic management and specific aetiology diagnosis and its relationship with HIV infection and health seeking behaviour among youth attending a reproductive health clinic in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. METHODS: Between September 1998 and February 1999 among 1895 adolescents and youth below 25 years seen in the clinic 199 (10.5%) were randomly selected and consented to participate in the study. A standard questionnaire was administered. Blood and vaginal or urethral specimens were taken and investigated for STI causative agents. RESULTS: Among a total of 199 studied adolescents and youth 22.6 % were teenagers, with fewer females 17.8% than males; 27.5% (p < 0.018). 20.8% of the females compared to 11.5% in males were HIV infected. Genital discharge was the most common complaint which was reported in 54.1% of male and 63.4 % of female patients. All males with gonorrhoea and four out of five with Chlamydia were given appropriate treatment with syndromic management, while 28% women with gonorrhoea or Chlamydia received appropriate treatment by syndromic management. All patients found with active syphilis by serology had not complained of genital ulcers and would not have been assigned to syndromic treatment for syphilis at the initial visit. CONCLUSION: The burden of STIs in this youth population is large indicating that youth are at increased risk of STIs and will certainly require youth friendly clinics. There is a need to refine the current syndromic management guidelines

Women’s insights on anaemia and the impact of nutrition training: An intervention study among rural women in Dodoma, Tanzania

Journal Cogent Food & AgricultureAn interventional pre-post study was conducted to evaluate rural women’s insights on anaemia and the effects of nutritional training on the knowledge and haemoglobin (Hb) levels among women of reproductive age (19–45 years) in Dodoma, Tanzania. The respondent was the mother/woman or any other person responsible for food preparation and serving in the household. Baseline and endline data on demographic and socioeconomic information, women’s insights on anaemia, knowledge gaps of mothers’/caregivers’ in nutrition, iron deficiency and iron-rich foods were collected using a face to face interviewer-administered questionnaire. Haemoglobin concentration of the women was measured at baseline and endline using a portable battery-operated electronic HemoCue Hemoglobinometer. Training was done once every month for three months consecutively. A total of 350 women were involved at baseline and 260 women at endline. Among all respondents, only 18% of women had baseline knowledge regarding the causes of anaemia which was increased significantly to 72% after the intervention. At baseline, 19% of women had haemoglobin levels of below 12.0 g/dl this number decreased to 13% during the endline survey. The results indicated a significant association between a woman having consumed green leafy vegetables in the previous 24 hours preceding the survey and haemoglobin levels during the endline period. The findings of this study indicate that the nutrition education given directly to rural women could have some impact in improving women’s knowledge and haemoglobin status

Consumer behavior and consumption practices towards less documented wild leafy vegetables among rural households in Dodoma Region, Tanzania

International Journal of Environment, Agriculture and Biotechnology (IJEAB) Vol -4, Issue-4, Jul-Aug- 2019Inadequate dietary diversity is a key challenge in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Diversifying diets with African indigenous vegetables is a sustainable way to supp ly a variety of nutrients to household members due to their richness in vitamins and minerals. Understanding the preferences and consumption practices of different varieties of wild vegetables is important information for agricultural promoters and is scarcely explored in Tanzania. This study aimed to gain an understanding of consumer behavior and consumption practices of wild vegetables in semi -arid areas in Tanzania in order to inform food policy and agricultural promoters. The study was conducted in two villages; Ilolo and Idifu from the semi-arid Dodoma region in Tanzania. Focus group discussions were conducted with forty women from both villages because women are more involved in cultivation, gathering and preparation of vegetables. Information collected in the focus group discussions included; perceptions, preferences, beliefs and taboos associated with consumption of wild vegetables. Participants reported that wild vegetables are seasonally available with most time of the year being scarce. The majority of the women reported consuming the wild ve getables due to good taste, abundance of nutrients, availability/affordability (they are mostly free), and because the other sources of relish are usually scarce. The most common wild vegetables that were consumed in the past 24 hours preceding the focus group discussions in the two villages included Ipomoea pandurate which is locally known as chiwandagulu and Corchorus trilocularis commonly known as ilende. For most vegetables, leaves and stems were common parts consumed. The women in both villages ranked Corchorus trilocularisas the most preferred wild vegetable. Women also reported some medicinal values attached to some of the wild vegetables such as Bidens Pilosa leaves which are claimed to increase blood. Generally, wild vegetables have the capability to escalate their significance to household income generation if farmers are given the chance to market them. Also domestication and promotion of these vegetables may help to enhance food and nutrition security

A home gardening tactic developed to address undernutrition in rural households in Tanzania

Book Chapter in "Research Trends in Food Technology and Nutrition, Chapter 6 2020, pp. 212-143The aim of the project was to implement, monitor, establish and assess the impact of vegetable gardening combined with a household-based nutrition education in rural areas in Tanzania on nutritional status and dietary diversity. The objectives of the intervention were to increase production and consumption of green leafy vegetables as well as increasing participants’ knowledge of nutritional aspects. Nutrition training covered various gaps observed in a preceded nutrition survey (baseline). Gardening practical demonstrations and hand on implementation skills were carried out to the participating 360 households. Data on demographics, vegetable consumption patterns, dietary diversity and nutritional status were collected at baseline and endline periods. Pearson’s chi square tests were conducted to compare the baseline to endline results for each section of the questionnaire. Results indicated that 75.8% of the caregivers had never heard about pocket/bag/sack vegetable gardening at baseline but at endline all the caregivers (100%) had heard about this type of gardening whereas 77% of the caregivers had never received any kind of nutrition education and 85.2% did not know anything about food groups at baseline, but during the endline study, 82% had ever heard about nutrition training and 95% knew about food groups. At baseline only 27% of households had a high Dietary Diversity Score (DDS) as compared to 52% at endline. For the vegetable types that were introduced in the kitchen gardens, daily and weekly consumption rates increased by 10- 50% from baseline to endline periods. Water shortage, pests, diseases and insects were reported by a significantly (p<0.05) percentage of households in the end of the intervention than at the beginning of the intervention. The intervention increased consumption of green leafy vegetables, dietary diversity and participants’ nutrition knowledge in the topics covered. The project recommends progressing this type of intervention further by selecting foods containing high vitamin A amounts to be included in the pocket/sack gardens

Tackling food and nutrition insecurity in Tanzania: farmers perspectives on kitchen gardening as a sustainable approach

Book of abstracts 2015, pp. 782-794Under nutrition and food insecurity are major problems faced by most of the developing countries including Tanzania. Foods with high nutrient content are difficult to find in the poorer rural areas where most people are dependent on staple foods with little diversity. Kitchen gardens play an important role in fulfiling dietary and nutritional needs. This study sought to investigate the perceptions and practices by farmers on how kitchen gardening can be transformed into a sustainable nutrition and livelihood strategy in order to come up with information not only on socio-economic sustainability but also on the environmental sustainability of kitchen gardens in rural Tanzania. Focus group discussions, key informant interviews, field observations and secondary sources of data were used. The researcher used observation guide to identify some of the issues that could not come out clearly during focus group discussions. The study was undertaken in Idifu village, Chamwino district in Dodoma. A total of 28 farmers were involved. Only 18% of households practised kitchen gardening. It was regarded as the activity of women. About 80% of the respondents did not have indicted budget to buy seeds and inputs for kitchen gardening. About 85% of farmers indicated it has a potential to be a secondary source of income. Water was a limiting factor in 78% of the participants. About 80% of farmers did not posses radios, and 20% possessed radios but sometimes they lacked money to buy batteries. This constraints the spread of kitchen gardening information through media. This study confirms that kitchen gardening can be changed into a sustainable nutrition and livelihood strategy in Chwamino district and other similar environments if the farmers have access to training on the sustainable use of natural resources such as water and land and can afford adequate access to resources

Determinants of household dietary practices in rural Tanzania: Implications for nutrition interventions

Cogent Food & Agriculture (2016), 2: 1224046A household cross-sectional survey of a sample of 120 households to analyze consumption practices and determinants of household dietary diversity in rural areas of differing agro-climatic conditions in Tanzania was conducted in four villages of Morogoro and Dodoma regions. The respondent was the mother/woman or any other person responsible for food preparation and serving in the household. The inclusion criteria were those women who had given consent to participate, those from a rural area and in the age bracket 15 to 49 years. Data were collected using the Food and Agriculture Organization dietary diversity questionnaire with twelve food groups. Two independent multinomial logistic regression models were used to establish relationships between dietary diversity and categorical variables in Morogoro and Dodoma regions. The mean dietary diversity scores were 4.7 and 4.1 for Morogoro and Dodoma, respectively. The Cereals were highly consumed by all households that participated in the study during the past 24 h preceding the survey and that the consumption of animal based protein foods was below 40%. Determinants of household dietary diversity in Morogoro included literacy status of the mother and prior nutrition training/knowledge. In Dodoma, cultivated land size, literacy status of the mother and distance to a water source determined household dietary diversity. It is therefore recommended that nutrition and food security interventions should not only empower rural women but also pay special attention to differences in agro-ecological environments of the areas in determining interventions to address malnutrition and for effective successful implementation and outcomes

Factors influencing stunting among children in rural Tanzania: an agro-climatic zone perspective

Journal of Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht and International Society for Plant Pathology 2017This paper analyzed stunting in children in Tanzania and its linkages to agro-climatic conditions and related factors, unraveling the complex interactions of determinants of under-nutrition in two contrasting regions of Tanzania. We used logistic regression models to establish relationships between stunting and multiple variables belonging to different domains. The prevalence of stunting and severe stunting in children was 41% and 21% respectively, while 11% of women had a Body Mass Index of below 18.5. Results also indicate that 17% of children and 16% of women were anaemic. Regression analysis showed that major determinants of child stunting in the semi-arid Dodoma region are cultivated land size, gender and age of the child, duration of breastfeeding, household size, use of iodized salt and the distance to a water source. In sub-humid Morogoro, cultivated land size, a child’s age, duration of breastfeeding, literacy status of the mother and Body Mass Index of the mother predict stunting. We discuss how these factors influence the nutrition status of children in each agro-climatic region. The pooled model provided strong evidence to link agro-climatic zone characteristics to stunting among children. It is recommended that nutrition interventions should be specific to agroclimatic environments. Implementing agro-climatic sensitive interventional actions may help to reduce undernutrition and food insecurity in specific areas

Harvesting vegetables from the kitchen garden: an educative and sustainable approach to improve dietary practices and nutritional status among rural families in Tanzania

Proceedings of Scientific Conference, pp. 145-158Undernutrition continues to inflict significant social, health and economic consequences in developing countries, Tanzania inclusive. The aim of the present study was to implement, monitor and assess the impact of bag gardening and household nutrition education on dietary practices and nutritional status in rural villages in Tanzania. Nutrition education covered various gaps observed in a preceded nutrition survey (baseline). Bag gardening practical demonstrations and hand on implementation skills were carried out to the participating 120 households. McNemar and marginal homogeneity tests were conducted to compare the baseline to endline results for each section of the questionnaire. Results indicated that at baseline only 27% of households had a high Dietary Diversity Score as compared to 52% at endline. Daily and weekly consumption rates increased by 10-50% from baseline to endline periods.There were significant differences in knowledge aspects of factors influencing inclusion of vegetables in a meal, knowledge of bag and cultivation of vegetables in a bag garden, receiving nutrition education before, knowledge of foods that increase intake of fibre, knowledge of food groups and iron deficiency anaemia between the baseline and endline time points with p<0.05.The intervention increased consumption of green leafy vegetables, dietary diversity and nutrition knowledge of participants in the topics covered including general nutrition, nutrition requirements for specific groups, preparation and preservation of foods, improving nutrition through kitchen gardens and tips for improving health. We recommend progressing this type of intervention further by selecting foods containing high vitamin A amounts to be included in bag gardens

Direct evidence that asparagine at position 108 of the Plasmodium falciparum dihydrofolate reductase is involved in resistance to antifolate drugs in Tanzania

A nested polymerase chain reaction was used to amplify a fragment of the gene for dihydrofolate reductase of Plasmodium falciparum containing codon 108, where a point mutation, causing a serine to asparagine change, occurs in pyrimethamine resistant parasites. The presence of the mutation was detected by restriction enzyme digestion. Parasites in blood samples collected from asymptomatic children before, and 3 weeks after, treatment with pyrimethamine-sulfadoxine or chlorproguanil-dapsone were analysed. Parasites in the samples taken at 3 weeks carried only the asparagine mutant