Peter Furu

Zanzibar has witnessed fast growth in tourism due to its natural beauty and unique cultural values. On average, about 600,000 tourists arrive annually, creating demand for more hotels, which significantly adds to the generation of waste streams on the island. Food waste is a multifaceted issue and a cross-sectoral problem. However, existing research on food waste management in hospitality focuses mainly on operational and managerial perspectives, while overlooking the role of stakeholder engagement and their social interactions, creating a gap in understanding the relational and context-specific factors shaping sustainable practices, particularly in small island destinations. Therefore, collaborative efforts from different stakeholders are required to ensure sustainable waste management. This study aims to map the key stakeholders and analyze engagement dynamics and structural patterns of social networks to improve hotel food waste management as part of a sustainable tourism strategy in Zanzibar. Stakeholder mapping and analysis, and social network analysis, were applied to examine both the dynamic and interaction patterns. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with different stakeholders related to tourism and waste management operations to solicit their roles, responsibilities, interests, knowledge, interaction, information sharing, influence, and power in decision-making. The results revealed that waste management is the responsibility of local authorities, and there was limited interaction, information sharing, and coordination among stakeholders and across sectors. Building collaborative relationships is important and can be achieved by stimulating interactions through active communication platforms, including social media and online webinar sessions. Moreover, the study proposes a context-specific model for analyzing small-scale stakeholder interactions regarding food waste management in tourist hotels that can inform future stakeholder coordination and policy interventions.

Tourism is the key economic sector of and contributor to employment in Zanzibar. However, tourism growth creates a demand for more hotels, contributing to more waste. Meanwhile, food waste in the hospitality sector remains a concern due to its impact on food sustainability and its economic and environmental footprint. This study examines food waste management in selected tourist hotels located along the east coast and north districts of the island and recommends strategies for improvement. Mixed methods, including surveys and key informants’ interviews and observations, were used for data collection to map the waste flow along the food value chain, analyze the selected hotels’ management practices, and consider stakeholders’ perspectives. The findings reveal that food wastage occurs at each stage of business operations, and the largest waste stream is located at hotels, with an average estimate of 1.8 kg per guest per day. Most waste is generated during food preparation and when serving customers, constituting both avoidable and unavoidable food fractions. Moreover, the implementation of sustainable practices is scarce due to challenges, such as a lack of food waste minimization and management plans and a low level of knowledge and coordination among staff and other stakeholders. However, hotel managers’ knowledge, experience, and willingness to change, as well as the ongoing Greener Zanzibar Campaign, are driving forces for enhancing circular and sustainable practices at tourist hotels. Based on the findings, strategies, such as involving local suppliers close to the hotels for perishable products, reusing leftover food for staff and donations to local communities, and staff training on handling food waste are recommended. The practical implications of this study will help hoteliers reduce food wastage and contribute to more sustainable tourism development in Zanzibar.

Background: Mass drug administration is one of the key interventions recommended by WHO to control certain NTDs. With most support from donors, health workers distribute antihelminthic drugs annually in Malawi. Mean community coverage of MDA from 2018 to 2020 was high at 87% for praziquantel and 82% for albendazole. However, once donor support diminishes sustaining these levels will be challenging. This study intended to compare the use of the community-directed intervention approach with the standard practice of using health workers in delivery of MDA campaigns. Methods: This was a controlled implementation study carried out in three districts, where four health centres and 16 villages in each district were selected and randomly assigned to intervention and control arms which implemented MDA campaigns using the CDI approach and the standard practice, respectively. Cross-sectional and mixed methods approach to data collection was used focusing on quantitative data for coverage and knowledge levels and qualitative data to assess perceptions of health providers and beneficiaries at baseline and follow-up assessments. Quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed using IBM SPSS software version 26 and NVivo 12 for Windows, respectively. Results: At follow-up, knowledge levels increased, majority of the respondents were more knowledgeable about what schistosomiasis was (41%-44%), its causes (41%-44%) and what STH were (48%-64%), while knowledge on intermediate host for schistosomiasis (19%-22%), its types (9%-13%) and what causes STH (15%-16%) were less known both in intervention and control arm communities. High coverage rates for praziquantel were registered in intervention (83%-89%) and control (86%-89%) communities, intervention (59%-79) and control (53%-86%) schools. Costs for implementation of the study indicated that the intervention arm used more resources than the control arm. Health workers and community members perceived the use of the CDI approach as a good initiative and more favorable over the standard practice. Conclusions: The use of the CDI in delivery of MDA campaigns against schistosomiasis and STH appears feasible, retains high coverages and is acceptable in intervention communities. Despite the initial high costs incurred, embedding into community delivery platforms could be considered as a possible way forward addressing the sustainability concern when current donor support wanes. Trial registration: Pan-African Clinical Trials Registry PACTR202102477794401, date: 25/02/2021.

There is an increasing awareness of the association between tourism activity and risks of emerging mosquito-borne diseases (MBDs) worldwide. In previous studies we showed that hotels in Zanzibar may play an important role in maintaining residual foci of mosquito vectors populations of public health concern. These findings indicated larval sources removal (LSR) interventions may have a significant negative impact on vector communities. However, a thorough analysis of the response vector species to potential LSM strategies must be evaluated prior to implementation of a large-scale area-wide control campaign. Here we propose a protocol for evaluation of the impact of LSR against mosquito vectors at hotel settings in Zanzibar. This protocol is set to determine the efficacy of LSR in a randomized control partial cross-over experimental design with four hotel compounds representing the unit of randomization for allocation of interventions. However, the protocol can be applied to evaluate the impact of LRS in more than four sites. Proposed interventions are active removal of disposed containers, and installation of water dispenser to replace single use discarded plastic water bottles, which were identified as the most important source of mosquitoes studied hotels. The ideal time for allocating intervention to the intervention arms the dry season, when the mosquito abundance is predictably lower. The possible impact of interventions on mosquito occurrence and abundance risks is then evaluated throughout subsequent rainy and dry seasons. If an appreciable reduction in mosquito abundance and occurrence risks is observed during the trial period, intervention could be extended to the control arm to determine whether any potential reduction of mosquito density is reproducible. A rigorous evaluation of the proposed LRS interventions will inspire large scale trials and provide support for evidence-based mosquito management at hotel facilities in Zanzibar and similar settings.

Jàmbá: Journal of Disaster Risk Studies aims to engage, inform, and catalyse scholarly discourse within research and real-world practices that work towards the minimisation of vulnerabilities and disaster risks throughout developing communities with special emphasis on Africa.

Background: Mass drug administration (MDA) is one of the key interventions recommended by WHO for prevention and control of neglected tropical diseases (NTD). In Malawi, MDA is widely carried out annually since 2009 for prevention and control of schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminths (STH). No study has been carried out to assess effectiveness of the MDA approach and to document perceptions of health providers and beneficiaries regarding use of MDA. This study was done to understand how well MDA is being implemented and to identify opportunities for improvement in MDA delivery in Malawi. Methods: Designed as a cross-sectional and multi-methods research, the study was carried out in three southern Malawi districts of Chiradzulu, Mangochi and Zomba. In each district, four health centres and 16 villages were randomly selected to participate. A mixed-methods approach to data collection focusing on quantitative data for coverage and knowledge, attitudes and practices assessments; and qualitative data for assessing perceptions of health providers and beneficiaries regarding MDA was used. Quantitative data were processed and analyzed using IBM SPSS software version 26 while qualitative data were analysed using NVivo 12 for Windows. Results: Knowledge levels about schistosomiasis and STH in the districts varied according to disease aspects asked about. Majority are more knowledgeable about what schistosomiasis is (78%) and whether STH are treatable with drugs (97%); with least knowledgeable about the organism that transmits schistosomiasis (18%), types of schistosomiasis (11%) and what causes STH (20%). In 2018 and 2019 the districts registered high coverage rates for praziquantel and albendazole using community-based MDA (73–100%) and using school-based MDA (75–91%). Both the health authorities and community members perceived the MDA approach as good because it brings treatment closer to people. Conclusion: With the high MDA coverage obtained in communities and schools, the effectiveness of MDA in the target districts is satisfactory. There are, however, several challenges including disproportionate knowledge levels, which are hampering progress towards attainment of the 2030 global NTD goals. There is a need for promotion of community participation and partnerships as well as implementation of other recommended interventions for sustainable prevention and control of schistosomiasis and STH.

Preventive chemotherapy using mass drug administration (MDA) is one of the key interventions recommended by WHO, to control neglected tropical diseases. In Malawi, health workers distribute anti-helminthic drugs annually with most support from donors. The mean community coverage of MDA from 2018 to 2020 were high at 87% for praziquantel and 82% for albendazole, however posing a sustainability challenge once donor support diminishes. This study was conducted to compare use of the community-directed intervention (CDI) approach with the use of health workers in delivery of MDA. It was carried out in three districts, where cross-sectional, mixed-methods approach to data collection during baseline and follow-up assessments was used. Knowledge levels were high for what schistosomiasis is (65% - 88%) and what STH are (32% - 83%); and low for what causes schistosomiasis (32% - 58%), causes of STH (7% - 37%), intermediate organisms for schistosomiasis (13% - 33%) and types of schistosomiasis (2% - 26%). At follow-up, increases in praziquantel coverage were registered in control (86% to 89%) and intervention communities (83% to 89%); decreases were recorded for control (86% to 53%) and intervention schools (79% to 59%). Assessment of the costs for implementation of the study indicated that most resources were used at community (51%), health centre (29%) and district levels (19%). The intervention arm used more resources at health centre (27%) and community levels (44%) than the control arm at 2% and 4% respectively. Health workers and community members perceived the use of the CDI approach as a good initiative and more favorable over the standard practice of delivering MDA. The use of the CDI in delivery of MDA campaigns against schistosomiasis and STH is feasible, increases coverage and is acceptable in intervention communities. This could be a way forward addressing the sustainability concern when donor support wanes. Trial Registration PACTR202102477794401 Author summary World Health Organization recommends mass drug administration (MDA) as a key control measure against neglected tropical diseases. In Malawi, community-based health workers distribute drugs for schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminths (STH) annually, using mostly donor support which raises concern on the programme sustainability without such support. This study compared the use of the local community people as volunteers in delivery of effective MDA against schistosomiasis and STH, defined as community-directed intervention (CDI) approach, with current standard practice of using community-based health workers. The MDA coverage in both groups was noted to be high, with community-based health workers, volunteers, community leaders and people welcoming the CDI approach as good, convenient, acceptable and satisfactory initiative. Therefore, this CDI approach is a positive and sustainable move towards successful delivery of MDA against schistosomiasis and STH in endemic and limited resource settings, using local community volunteers.

Background: A field survey was performed to investigate local environmental factors promoting occurrence and abundance ofAedes aegyptiandAe. bromeliaemosquitoes at hotel compounds in the south-east coastal region of Zanzibar Island.Methods: The potential risk factors were determined using generalized linear mixed models.Aedes(Stegomyia) spp. indices such as container index (CI) and pupae per container (PPC) index were also estimated.Results: Aedes aegyptiandAe. bromeliaewere the most abundant vector species, accounting for 70.8% of allAedesmosquitoes collected. The highest CI was observed for plastic containers irrespective of the season, whereas the highest PPC was observed for coconut shells and aluminium containers in the rainy and dry seasons, respectively. The risk ofAedesmosquito occurrence and abundance were significantly associated with presence of plastic containers, coconut shells, used tyres and steel containers. These were discarded in shaded places, in the open and gardens, or found in plant nurseries.Conclusion: This study shows thatAedesspecies of global health significance occur at hotel compounds on this part of Zanzibar Island. The occurrence and abundance are sustained by the presence of abundant and poorly managed solid wastes and containers used for gardening tasks. This highlights an urgent need for the adoption of area-wide environmentally sustainableAedesmosquito management interventions that also integrate solid waste management and ornamental plant production practices for reducing the risk of arboviral disease epidemics.Graphical