Integrating mental health and climate resilience: A case study from Arusha

Ngaramtoni, like many communities globally, grapples with a complex interplay of challenges.

Excessive alcohol consumption among men has placed significant strain on families, often forcing women to take on high-interest business loans to support their households.

This economic pressure, coupled with the emotional toll of caregiving and limited support systems, has led to high levels of psychosocial stress.

The climate crisis has made the situation worse.

The community's vulnerability to extreme weather events, such as the April 2024 devastating floods in northern Tanzania, has had a profound impact on mental well-being.

Since November 2023, Tanzania has experienced heavy rains caused by an intense El Niño and Indian Ocean dipole system.

The resulting floods and landslides have claimed many lives and destroyed thousands of homes and businesses.

To address these interconnected issues, our fieldwork aimed to provide comprehensive support to the Ngaramtoni community.

Forty-nine students from the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program at the Aga Khan University School of Nursing and Midwifery, East Africa (SONAM EA), participated in this initiative.

SONAM EA remains committed to community mental health sensitization, as demonstrated by past student visits to Mirembe National Mental Hospital for clinical practice.

There, they worked with civil patients suffering from chronic mental illnesses requiring long-term hospitalization.

Additionally, the students rotated at the Isanga institution to study forensic psychiatry, focusing on patients who had committed offenses due to their mental illness and were undergoing psychosocial rehabilitation.

Over the past two years, SONAM EA and AKU's Arusha Climate and Environmental Research Centre (AKU-ACER) have worked together to champion integration of mental and community health with climate change.

The two entities leveraged each other's expertise to understand health trends influenced by climate change.

We implemented stress management workshops in an open-air market, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) sessions, and community outreach programmes to mitigate the effects of excessive alcohol consumption and its related mental health consequences.

Simultaneously, efforts were made to enhance community resilience to climate change through education, planning, and support.

By integrating mental health, community health, and climate change, we were able to gain a deeper understanding of the complex factors influencing the community's well-being.

This holistic approach allowed us to develop more effective interventions and empower community members to build resilience.

The experience in Ngaramtoni highlights the urgent need for a comprehensive approach to addressing public health challenges.

By integrating mental health, community health, and climate change, we can better understand the root causes of suffering and develop effective interventions. 

It is imperative that future healthcare professionals are equipped with the knowledge and skills to navigate these complex issues and create healthier, more resilient communities.

The author is a faculty member at the Aga Khan University School of Nursing and Midwifery, East Africa. Any opinions expressed are solely those of the writer