1. IHACC UGANDA RESEARCH SUMMARY FOR MONTREAL CONFERENCE AUGUST 17, 2010

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3. Pilot research team: (L to R) Celine, Thomas, Kathryn, and Obed

4. Research site: Kanungu district, Southwest Uganda

5. We worked with Batwa Pygmy communities close to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, famous as the home of half of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas

6. Forest remains on the hills while areas closer to town have been heavily cultivated, e.g. for tea plantations

7. Mukongoro Batwa Pygmy community

8. Mukongoro as illustrated by a participant in our mapping exercise

9. The hills around Mukongoro are used to grow cassava, beans, banana, millet, sorghum, among many crops.

10. Kihembe Batwa Pygmy community

11. Kihembe as illustrated by a participant in our mapping exercise

12. Mukongoro community members celebrate a successful week of research with traditional dancing

13. Kihembe celebrates with dancing and drumming

14. We used participatory rapid rural appraisal research methods. The community became a part of our research team.

15. Methods used included household semi-structured interviews, key informant interviews, biographies, future storylines, participatory mapping, and community meetings.

16. PhotoVoice was conducted with 21 local participants

17. Community members were taught to use digital cameras

18. Through photography, community members could show us how their environment affects their health

19. After the photos were taken, we met in groups to discuss them

20. Children taking part in our mapping exercise

21. Finished product

22. Research Results: KEY HEALTH CONCERNS

23. 1. Water

24. Water sources for drinking and household use are dirty and often dry up for a couple of months every year

25. 2. Sanitation: Communities lack proper latrines and other waste disposal facilities

26. 3. Malnutrition: Almost all families reported not having enough to eat both in calories and nutrition

27. Children appeared visibly malnourished

28. 4. Land: Agricultural plots are small and the soil exhausted

29. 5. Housing: Wind and rain can penetrate into the mud and grass huts of the Batwa, leading to illnesses such as pneumonia

30. 7. Money: Many families cannot afford household necessities such as pots which are used for cooking and boiling water

31. Lacking income, families cannot afford mosquito nets to cover their beds

32. Children are by far the most sensitive to disease

33. The most common illnesses reported were malaria, cough, ‘stomach itching’ and worms

34. Research Results: ADAPTIVE CAPACITY OF HEALTH SYSTEMS

35. Traditional medicine is used as primary healthcare

36. Western healthcare is turned to secondly

37. Climate change predictions for the region include…

38. More extreme seasons. The dry season will be drier and the rainy season rainier.

39. Warmer temperatures

40. Increase in severe weather events

41. Adaptations include…

42. Livelihood diversification

43. Change in agricultural practices

44. Waste disposal