The State University of Zanzibar introduces BSc to tackle public health challenges
05-03-25
As part of the Building Stronger Universities programme, the State University of Zanzibar (SUZA) launched a BSc in Environmental Science and Health degree course in 2013. Today, with more than 90% of the graduates working as health officers in Zanzibar and on mainland Tanzania, they play a vital role in tackling waterborne disease outbreaks and other public health challenges..
By Julie Bune & Vibeke Quaade
Zanzibar has long struggled with environmental health issues, particularly waterborne diseases such as cholera that are prevalent because of poor sanitation and unreliable water supplies. The Ministry of Health identified environmental health as a priority in 2009, but, at the time, only one institution in Tanzania offered a relevant degree course. In response to this challenge, the State University of Zanzibar (SUZA), in partnership with the University of Copenhagen under the Building Stronger Universities programme, launched a BSc in Environmental Science and Health.
The Ministry of Health and other key stakeholders contributed to the design of the curriculum. It emphasises practical, research-based training and the students engage in fieldwork with organisations that tackle real-world problems such as the Zanzibar Water Authority and the municipal waste management services.
To strengthen the university’s teaching capacity, SUZA has helped its staff gain postgraduate qualifications, including MScs and PhDs in Environmental Health, again with the support of the Building Stronger Universities partnership. In 2018, the BSc curriculum was revised to integrate student-centred, problem-based, and e-learning approaches. In a further development, since 2019 SUZA has hosted so-called “case challenges”, where students work in multidisciplinary teams to develop solutions to pressing health and environmental issues.
The programme’s success is reflected in the continued demand, with 76 students enrolled in 2024. Recognising the need for further expertise, SUZA is finalising the development of its own Master’s degree in Environmental Health—only the second in Tanzania and one of the few in East Africa.
Watch the video with Nahya Khamis Nassor, Healt Officer at Zanzibar Health Research Institute and BSc in Environmental Science and Health from State University of Zanzibar:
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