Climate change and health adaptation capacities of indigenous communities in Kanungu District, South Western Uganda. A study of the Batwa community in Kayonza and Mpungu sub-counties [Conference Abstract]

Francis Agaba; John Bosco Isunju; Allan Ssembuusi; David Musoke

doi:10.37432/JIEPH-CONFPRO6-00066

Conference Abstract | Volume 8, Abstract NACNDC/19JASH066 (Oral) | Published: 26 Nov 2025

Climate change and health adaptation capacities of indigenous communities in Kanungu District, South Western Uganda. A study of the Batwa community in Kayonza and Mpungu sub-counties

Francis Agaba¹, John Bosco Isunju¹, Allan Ssembuusi¹, David Musoke¹

¹Department of Disease Control and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda

^&Corresponding author: Francis Agaba,Department of Disease Control and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda. Email: agabafrancis407@gmail.com

Received: 15 Sept 2025, Accepted: 20 Oct 2025, Published: 26 Nov 2025

Domain: Climate Change

This is part of the Proceedings of the National Annual Communicable and Non-Communicable Diseases Conference (NACNDC) and 19th Joint Annual Scientific Health (JASH) Conference 2025

Keywords: Climate Change, Health Adaptation Capacities, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, Uganda

^©Francis Agaba et al. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health (ISSN: 2664-2824). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Cite this article: Francis Agaba et al., Climate change and health adaptation capacities of indigenous communities in Kanungu District, South Western Uganda. A study of the Batwa community in Kayonza and Mpungu sub-counties. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health. 2025;8(ConfProc6):00066. https://doi.org/10.37432/JIEPH-CONFPRO6-00066

Introduction

Climate change poses serious health risks, especially to indigenous communities in Uganda. Enhancing their knowledge is the key to strengthening perceptions, adaptive capacities and resilience. This study assessed the adaptation capacities of indigenous communities in Kanungu District and the factors influencing them.

Methods

The study was conducted in four sub-counties of Kanungu District among indigenous communities, including the Batwa. Data were collected from 101 household heads using questionnaires and one focus group discussion, and analyzed using STATA 14.1 and thematic analysis.

Results

The majority of the respondents were females 52.5% (53/101), 65.4% (66/101) were married and 33.7% (34/101) had attained primary education. Majority 89.0% (90/101) of the household heads reported to have heard about climate change and of these more than half accessed the information from radio 52.2% (47/101) and almost all respondents 99.0% (100/101) had noticed changes in the rainfall patterns which had affected their planting seasons and hence reduced on food security. Majority 91% (52/101) of the respondents believed that the changes in seasons greatly affected their health and 40.6% (41/101) reported a strong relationship between climate change and WASH and finally the majority 58.4% (59/101) reported financial barriers as the most hindrance to their adaptation to climate change.

Conclusion

Indigenous communities have a diverse understanding and possess extensive knowledge related to climate change adaptation. However, limited resources, policy support, and livelihood challenges hinder their ability to implement and sustain effective adaptation strategies.

Menu

On Pubmed

On Google Scholar

Navigate this article

Introduction
Methods
Results
Conclusion

Keywords

Climate Change
Health Adaptation capacities
Water Sanitation and Hygiene
Uganda