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Flooding and unpredictable weather have damaged crops, infrastructure and health services in the Kilosa District of Tanzania. World Vision's Ulaya program, which supports 27,000 people across 13 villages, reports that climate impacts now affect nearly all its work in health, nutrition, agriculture and water access.
The IndependentA new clinic with a deep borehole providing clean water has reduced risks for pregnant women in the village of Madudumizi in Tanzania's Kilosa District. Before the facility opened, mothers had to walk several hours to the next village, crossing a river that becomes dangerous during the rainy season.
Some mothers died during these journeys, according to Salma, a pregnant mother with three other children. The clinic was built by the NGO World Vision as part of its 20-year Ulaya development program. The program aims to improve the lives of 27,000 people across 13 villages through interventions in health, nutrition, water access and education.
World Vision spent $48 million in Tanzania last year, targeting three million children nationwide through child sponsorships, donations and government grants. Tanzania recorded 6.2 percent economic growth in the first three months of 2026. The country is building new infrastructure including a rapid rail system and the East African Crude Oil Pipeline.
However, half of its 70 million people live on less than $3 per day, and inequality has widened. Foreign aid from wealthy nations fell 26 percent in 2025 compared with 2024. Tanzania received $3.2 billion in aid in 2024 and is expected to see a larger reduction as donors shift funds toward countries considered more fragile or affected by conflict.
Rural communities in the Ulaya area, located on the floodplain of the Mkondoa River with poor-draining clay soil, have experienced intensified rainfall. Major flooding events once considered once-in-a-generation have occurred in 2020, 2024 and 2026.
Residents report that rainy seasons have become wetter and dry seasons drier, making it difficult to predict when to plant crops. Ninety-eight percent of people in the area are farmers who rely on rain-fed agriculture. "Until around 2019, we had regular rainy and dry seasons, but now, because of climate change, people cannot predict when the rains will come and do not know when to plant their crops," said Elisei Chilala, coordinator for the Ulaya Area Programme.
"Climate change is really impacting everything we are doing here, from health and nutrition to infrastructure and water programmes," said Leonard Slaa, an advisor hired by World Vision to address climate threats. Floodwaters remained high in the area during a visit by The Independent last month.
Ida at the Madudumizi clinic said major flooding events lead to increases in malaria, respiratory infections and pneumonia. Mosquitoes breed in standing water left by floods, while the rainy season is typically followed by rises in viral illnesses such as RSV, rhinovirus and influenza.
Malaria treatment tablets previously supplied by USAID are no longer available in 2026, and government supplies are sometimes insufficient. In the nearby village of Zombo, World Vision has trained mothers in nutrition practices to reduce child stunting.
Rehema, a mother of five, said the training had improved children's health but that recent flooding submerged many farms along the river. Families worry they will not be able to grow or buy enough food to maintain nutritional gains. "We are very worried about the future.
We see that the weather is becoming more difficult, and we do not know what food we will have in the future," Rehema said. The Ulaya program continues to operate while adapting to both reduced funding and repeated extreme weather events that affect its work across multiple sectors.
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