Hudson Laizer

Objectives: Malnutrition remains the leading cause of child mortality in Tanzania, with over 34% of children under 5 years of age affected by stunting and approximately 5% experiencing acute malnutrition. This study aimed to develop a machine learning model to predict fetal nutritional status using maternal and clinical data, thereby enabling early risk identification for health workers and parents and facilitating timely intervention. To enhance practical applicability, the model was deployed within a mobile application to provide accessible, real-time predictions that support prompt clinical and behavioral responses.Methods: Using a dataset collected in Tanzania, the performance of multiple binary classification algorithms—logistic regression, multi-layer perceptron, random forest, extreme gradient boosting, and light gradient boosting machine (LightGBM)—was compared using the geometric mean and F-measure. These models were trained on clinical data from 11,703 pregnant women to predict fetal nutritional status based on maternal and clinical variables.Results: The results indicated that the LightGBM algorithm achieved the best overall performance in predicting fetal nutritional status. The most influential predictors included maternal age, weight, fetal age, hemoglobin level, number of meals per day, medical history, and education level. Additionally, 93% of respondents reported satisfaction with the application’s predictive functionality, supporting its potential utility for early intervention in low-resource settings.Conclusions: These findings highlight the potential of data-driven approaches to address public health challenges in maternal and child health. The proposed model may enable healthcare providers to make timely, informed decisions that improve maternal and fetal outcomes, ultimately contributing to the reduction of child malnutrition in Tanzania.

Irish potato ( Solanum tuberosum ) is an important food and cash crop for smallholder farmers in Tanzania, particularly in the Southern Highlands. Despite these, yields remain low due to persistent challenges from pests and diseases, threatening both productivity and household incomes. This study examined knowledge, perceptions and practices of smallholder farmers in managing pests and diseases of Irish potato in Mbeya, Tanzania. A total of 225 farmers from five wards were surveyed using structured interviews and focus group discussions. Most respondents (83%) identified pests and 73% identified diseases as major constraints. Aphids (83%), whiteflies (71%) and potato tuber moth (39%) were the most commonly reported pests, while early blight (91%), late blight (45%) and Fusarium wilt (29%) were the most cited diseases. Despite the widespread use of chemical pesticides (92%) and fungicides (72%), access to these inputs was constrained by high costs, limited availability and insufficient knowledge, with only 24% of farmers reporting effective use. Non-chemical methods, such as crop rotation, intercropping and botanical extracts, were rarely practiced, reflecting low awareness and limited extension support. Most farmers relied on experience rather than consulting agricultural officers, and over 90% used traditional seed varieties. Yields varied significantly among wards, with averages ranging from 1.1 to 22.4 t/ha. While farmers demonstrated awareness of pests and diseases, management practices were heavily dependent on synthetic chemicals, with minimal integration of sustainable strategies. These findings highlight the need to promote integrated pest and disease management approaches tailored to local conditions for improving productivity of Irish potato.

Schistosomiasis is a significant public health problem in Tanzania, particularly for the people living in the marginalized settings. We have conducted a systematic review with meta-analysis on the prevalence of schistosomiasis to add knowledge towards the development of effective approaches to control the disease in Tanzania. Online databases namely, Pub Med, SCOPUS and AJOL, were systematically searched and a random effect model was used to calculate the pooled prevalence of the disease. Heterogeneity and the between studies variances were determined using Cochran (Q) and Higgins (I²) tests, respectively. A total of 55 articles met the inclusion criterion for this review and all have satisfactory quality scores. The pooled prevalence of the disease in Tanzania was 26.40%. Tanzania mainland had the highest schistosomiasis prevalence (28.89%) than Zanzibar (8.95%). Sub-group analyses based on the year of publication revealed the going up of the pooled prevalence, whereby for (2013–2018) and (2018–2023) the prevalence was 23.41% and 30.06%, respectively. The prevalence of the Schistosoma mansoni and Schistosoma hematobium were 37.91% and 8.86% respectively. Mara, Simuyu, and Mwanza were the most prevalent regions, with a pooled prevalence of 77.39%, 72.26%, and 51.19%, respectively. The pooled prevalence based on the diagnostic method was 64.11% for PCR and 56.46% for POC-CCA, which is relatively high compared to other tests. Cochrans and Higgins (I²) test has shown significant heterogeneity (p-value = 0.001 and I² = 99.6). Factors including age, region, diagnostic method and sample size have shown significant contribution to the displayed heterogeneity. The pronounced and increasing prevalence of the disease suggests potential low coverage and possibly lack of involvement of some regions in the control of the disease. This, therefore, calls for an intensive implementation of control interventions in all endemic regions, preferably using an integrated approach that targets several stages of the disease lifecycle.

Weeds with allelopathic effect have been reported to cause significant damage in agriculture particularly in smallholder farming systems. This study assessed the allelopathic effects of different concentrations of crude extract of a noxious weed Sphaeranthus suaveolens on seed germination and seedling growth of Phaseolus vulgaris and Oryza sativa by examining germination, seedling height, and total chlorophyll content after seven and fourteen days of crude extract treatment, respectively. Results showed that seed germination and seedling growth were significantly ( ) decreased with increase in concentration of crude extract, signifying concentration dependency. Highest concentration (100%) of S. suaveolens crude extracts resulted in 90% and 100% inhibition of P. vulgaris and O. sativa seed germination, respectively. Chlorophyll content, fresh weight, and root and shoot length of both P. vulgaris and O. sativa were also significantly ( ) affected by highest concentration (100%) of S. suaveolens crude extracts. Results from this study suggest that the extract of S. suaveolens contains water-soluble allelochemicals which significantly reduce growth and productivity of P. vulgaris and O. sativa.

Weeds and insect pests are among the serious constraints in common bean production in most rural communities. A survey of 169 smallholder farmers was conducted in two common bean-growing districts in northern Tanzania. The aim was to assess farmers’ knowledge, perceptions, current management practices and challenges in order to develop sustainable weed and insect pest management strategies. The results revealed that 83% of farmers perceived insect pests as the major constraint in common bean production, while 73% reported weeds as the main drawback. Insect pest management was mainly achieved through the use of synthetic pesticides, however, only 24% of farmers were able to apply, the rest could not afford due to high cost, limited access and lack of knowledge. Only 6.5% of farmers were aware of non-chemical methods and 2.1% did not practice any method in managing insect pests, both in the field and during storage. Moreover, farmers generally relied on experience in managing insect pests and weeds, and about 43% did not see the need to consult extension officers. These findings indicate that there is a need to sensitize and train farmers on the sustainable methods for pest and weed management in common bean farming systems in northern Tanzania.