Urban Poverty & Climate Change in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania:

4.1.2 Drought risk
Tanzania 8 occasionally experiences prolonged droughts that can have severe socio-economic
implications; the drought of 2006 damaged agricultural production, necessitated electricity
cuts (and thus drops in industrial production) and cut GDP growth by 1 percent
(ClimateWorks Foundation et al., 2009). A number of diseases are related to drought in the
country: malnutrition, trachoma, dysentery, cholera, and diarrhea. Although increased
drought has been projected for Tanzania’s central regions (ClimateWorks Foundation, 2009),
the impact of climate change on drought is uncertain for Tanzania in general (Watkiss et al.,
2011), with some models predicting intensification and others reduction in severity.
Prolonged droughts affect hydropower generation and result in electricity shortages and
rationing in the city, as was the case in the drought of 2006.
Reduced water becomes a major issue for Dar es Salaam’s poorer residents, causing
disruption of social services and adversely affecting nutrition, subsistence, and livelihoods –
particularly small-scale industries such as food vending, which require the use of freezers and
refrigerators.
Drought was perceived as a risk posed by climate change to the community by 13 percent of
the respondents interviewed by the study team (see Section 4.2, Figure 27).
4.1.3 Diseases
Sanitation provision in Dar es Salaam is grossly deficient; most people living in unplanned
settlements do not have access to hygienic toilets and thus large amounts of fecal waste are
discharged to the environment without adequate treatment. A high water table means that
during heavy rainfall, flooding is quick to occur and waste-ridden muddy water remains
undrained in settlements for a long period of time. Stormwater drains are frequently blocked
by crude dumping of solid waste. Contaminated stagnant water is a common breeding site for
mosquitoes, leading to high malaria incidence in settlements, and to other water borne
diseases such as cholera, dysentery and diarrhea. Photos 1–6 below illustrate these
conditions.
Photo 1 Stagnant water in an informal settlement Photo 2 Crude dumping of solid waste
8 It was not possible to obtain drought information for Dar es Salaam for this study.
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