Amid Climate Extremes, Ugandan Communities Help Shape the Future of Climate and Health Research

In a small village near the shores of Lake Victoria in central Uganda, Magdalene gestures to her withered coffee and banana plants. A 90-minute conversation with a local research interviewer, Emmanuel, has her reflecting on something she hadn’t considered before: “The questions are making me think more about what could be causing these climate changes,” she says. Increasingly, residents of communities like hers around the world are citing rising temperatures, prolonged drought, and unpredictable rainfall patterns as threats to their crops. 

Magdalene is one of hundreds of residents taking part in a collaborative research project between the University of Michigan (U-M) and the Rakai Health Sciences Program, a respected nonprofit research organization based in Kalisizo, Uganda. Funded by the Center for Global Health Equity, this project is piloting a survey to better understand how climate shocks like flooding, drought, and extreme heat affect health and well-being among communities in low- and middle-income countries. 

Though low- and middle-income countries contribute little to climate change, they face its most severe impacts. Yet, data on how climate extremes affect these communities is often too broad to capture important local realities. This project seeks to fill that gap by piloting a detailed climate shock survey that records household-level experiences with extreme weather. 

In the first round of data collection, the team completed 400 household interviews—half in fishing communities and half in agrarian areas—to document how families are affected by events like crop failure, flooding, and waterborne illness. The surveys also capture coping strategies, such as shifting crops, selling assets, or relocating. This work is part of a broader effort to create tools that help countries better monitor and respond to the health risks of climate change. 

Tom Lutalo, head of the department of data and biostatistics at the Rakai Health Sciences Program, highlights the significance of this approach: "By involving local communities directly in the research process, we are not only collecting data that is finely attuned to the realities on the ground but also empowering these communities to actively participate in creating solutions that reflect their unique challenges and strengths." 

Joe Eisenberg, PhD, a professor of epidemiology at U-M’s School of Public Health, is co-leading the project alongside Pam Jagger, PhD, a professor at U-M’s School for Environment and Sustainability. “Climate change is a major threat to global health,” Eisenberg said. “But its effects play out locally, and too often we miss the nuances of how communities are impacted. This work helps us fill that gap.” 

To ensure the climate shock survey can be adapted to different contexts, the project is being carried out across four distinct sites—Uganda, Kenya, and two in Bangladesh—each chosen for their unique climate vulnerabilities. The U-M research team is working closely with local partners, including the Kenyan NGO Eco2librium and the International Center for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), to design and implement surveys that reflect the realities on the ground. These partnerships are critical for ensuring the survey tools are locally relevant while also allowing for standardized data collection that can be compared across countries. By harmonizing methods across diverse settings—from flood-prone coastal communities in Bangladesh to drought- and heat-affected areas near Lake Victoria—the team aims to develop a flexible, evidence-based tool that helps track how households experience and adapt to extreme weather events around the world. 

“We’re not just collecting data—we’re building data systems that will allow for greater understanding of both single extreme weather events and the cumulative impact of multiple shocks,” said Jagger. “Our goal is to support local capacity for climate and health research, and to develop tools that can be used globally to inform policy and improve health outcomes.” 

Collaboration among the research teams from U-M and their counterparts at each survey location is vital to the project's success. Each group of researchers brings valuable expertise and insights specific to their region, enhancing the overall quality and relevance of the work. The project is rooted in equity, empowering local teams and centering community voices, ensuring that the research reflects the true needs and experiences of those most affected by climate change. By combining their decades of experience in field research, community engagement, and health data analysis, the teams from Uganda, Kenya, Bangladesh, and Michigan are able to create a robust, adaptable framework for understanding and mitigating climate-related health risks. This global partnership not only enriches the research but also fosters a shared commitment to developing practical solutions that can benefit communities worldwide. 

With growing evidence that the world’s most under-resourced regions bear the brunt of climate change, the need for context-specific and community-led solutions has never been clearer. Thanks to efforts like this, global health researchers are listening more closely to people like Magdalene—who are not only living through the crisis, but also helping shape the path forward.