Affordable house designs to improve health in rural Africa: a field study from northeastern Tanzania

The Lancet. Planetary Health
Lorenz von SeidleinJakob Knudsen

Abstract

The population of sub-Saharan Africa is currently estimated to be 1245 million and is expected to quadruple by the end of the century, necessitating the building of millions of homes. Malaria remains a substantial problem in this region and efforts to minimise transmission should be considered in future house planning. We studied how building elements, which have been successfully employed in southeast Asia to prevent mosquitos from entering and cooling the house, could be integrated in a more sustainable house design in rural northeastern Tanzania, Africa, to decrease mosquito density and regulate indoor climate. In this field study, six prototype houses of southeast Asian design were built in in the village of Magoda in Muheza District, Tanga Region, Tanzania, and compared with modified and unmodified, traditional, sub-Saharan African houses. Prototype houses were built with walls made of lightweight permeable materials (bamboo, shade net, or timber) with bedrooms elevated from the ground and with screened windows. Modified and unmodified traditional African houses, wattle-daub or mud-block constructions, built on the ground with poor ventilation served as controls. In the modified houses, major structural problems such as le...Continue Reading

Citations

Jul 5, 2018·Parasites & Vectors·Monicah M MburuRobert S McCann
Mar 10, 2019·Malaria Journal·Emily RicottaOlivier J T Briët
Jun 14, 2019·PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases·Claudia Nieto-SanchezMario J Grijalva
Sep 22, 2018·Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene·Anne L WilsonSteve W Lindsay
Jan 21, 2021·The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews·Joanna Furnival-AdamsPaul Garner
Feb 6, 2021·Reviews on Environmental Health·Kok Pim Kua, Dr Shaun Wen Huey Lee
Dec 29, 2020·Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences·Steven W LindsayJakob Knudsen
Oct 16, 2020·The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews·Joanna Furnival-AdamsPaul Garner
Apr 28, 2021·The Journal of Infectious Diseases·Jeffrey HiiMichael J Bangs
May 27, 2021·Journal of the Royal Society, Interface·Majo Carrasco-TenezacaSteve W Lindsay

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