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Kangalawe 61Deaths due to malaria25020015010050019941995199619971998199920002001Year200220032004200520062007Ilembo HCIfisi DDHInyala HCRungwe DHIkuti HCIgogwe DDHMbuyuni HCChunya DHMwambani DDHVwawa DHMbozi DDHFigure 6. Deaths due to malaria in selected health facilities in Mbeya Region. Source: Compiled from MTUHArecords 1994 to 2007.Percentage Percentage of of respondents120100806040200100094.75.3100095.24.8Chunya Mbeya Rural Mbozi RungweDistrictYesNoFigure 7. Responses on the link between climate change and malaria in Mbeya region.diarrhoeal and respiratory diseases were linked to climatechange in that they are influenced by seasonalfluctuations of weather factors such asincreasing/decreasing amounts of rainfall or temperature.Responses from household and key informant interviewsindicated that in Mbeya malaria is most prevalent duringthe rainy season, as reported by about 77% ofrespondents (Table 7), locally attributed to presence ofmosquito breeding sites in most areas. This period is alsomuch warmer compared to the cold months like June toAugustThe responses by some respondents that malaria hasbecome a common phenomenon during other times ofthe year indicates that generally mosquitoes andassociated malaria have found a suitable habit in an areathat would traditionally be devoid of malaria withoutclimate change. Traditionally, malaria transmission hasbeen limited in the highlands because of their lowtemperatures, which deter mosquitoes and malariaparasites. However, with a rise in global temperaturesthis trend is changing (Githeko et al., 2000; Wandiga etal., 2006). It was noted in some villages, such as Ilemboin Mbeya Rural district that although there were still nomosquitoes in the area because of the very cold climate,there were many clinical malaria cases. The explanationgiven was that those who got malaria were bitten bymosquitoes when they travelled outside the village onshort-term basis, and returned back to the village with theparasites. Given their low natural immunity they succumbeasily to malaria. This shows that apart from climatechange mobility could be a compounding stress factor forthe prevalence of malaria in some areas (Kangalawe,2009).Diarrhoeal diseases were also reported to be most