Dar es Salaam Urban Cohort Study (DUCS) was initiated in 2011 to establish and maintain a Demographic Surveillance System (DSS) that will monitor health and socio-demographic events over time in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The platform was developed in partnership between the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS). The surveillance site covers a population of approximately 100,000 residents living in close to 20,000 households in the Ukonga and Gongo la Mboto wards of Ilala district in Dar es Salaam.

As the Principal Investigator (PI) of the Dar es Salaam Urban Cohort Study (DUCS), I am pleased to share with you the remarkable initiatives and opportunities stemming from our endeavor in this uniquely placed platform.

The platform serves as a beacon of excellence in both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies on communicable and non-communicable diseases. Through annual household visits, we meticulously collect and update a wealth of vital information encompassing births, deaths, marriages, migration patterns, water supply and sanitation facilities, socioeconomic status, and food insecurity status. This comprehensive dataset, meticulously gathered and updated, provides an invaluable resource for understanding the dynamic health and social landscape of urban communities.

The strength of our platform lies in its ability to deliver accurate and reliable data, offering an unparalleled opportunity for researchers, funding agencies, and policy makers to harness this wealth of information. By leveraging our population base and the depth of our data, stakeholders can embark on a myriad of research endeavors in terms of nested studies aimed at elucidating complex health issues, informing evidence-based interventions, and shaping transformative policies that positively impact urban populations.

We invite you to explore the opportunities our platform offers for collaboration and partnership. Together, we can harness the power of data to drive meaningful change and advance the well-being of urban communities.