Zambart

19/12/2025

TFA Project Stigma Champions Donate to Macha Mission Hospital

To reduce stigma and promote patient dignity, the Red Ribbon Group, who are the TFA Stigma Champions at Macha Mission Hospital, undertook an initiative to install privacy screens at the hospital. The objective of this intervention is to enhance privacy and ensure confidentiality for patients accessing healthcare services.

This donation forms part of TFA’s broader efforts to create health facility environments that promote privacy, dignity, and trust. Hospital leadership emphasized that safeguarding patient privacy is critical in encouraging individuals to seek care and adhere to treatment particularly for sensitive health conditions where stigma remains a significant barrier.

The Zambart TFA study reaffirmed its commitment to stigma reduction and patient dignity through a donation made to Macha Mission Hospital under the Total Facility Approach (TFA) project. The handover ceremony, held on 12 December 2025, brought together hospital leadership and key stakeholders dedicated to strengthening patient-centred care.

The initiative complements ongoing interventions under the TFA project, including improvements to facility infrastructure, staff training, and the promotion of supportive policies aimed at reducing stigma within healthcare settings. By addressing both physical spaces and service delivery practices, the project seeks to foster environments in which patients feel safe, respected, and supported.

Choma General Hospital, alongside Macha Mission Hospital, continues to benefit from this initiative as Zambart works with partners to advance more inclusive and patient-centred healthcare services
Gates Foundation Ministry of Health Zambia

15/12/2025

Zambart Staff Donate Essential Items to HEAL Project in Ngombe in the Spirit of Christmas

Zambart staff have donated sanitary pads, school supplies, cleaning materials and other essential items to the HEAL Project, reaffirming the organisation’s commitment to supporting vulnerable children affected by HIV and TB. Speaking on behalf of Zambart’s Executive Director, Dr. Kwame Shanaube, the organisation’s Communications Officer, Chama Kapatamoyo, noted that the gesture was made in not only in the spirit of Christmas, a season dedicated to giving and uplifting those in need but also on a quest to Improve Health for All.

The HEAL Project Zambia is a community centre and day school in Ngombe Township in Lusaka catering to pre-grade 7 students. The school also provides lunch to 300 learners daily, ensuring both educational and nutritional needs are met.

During the handover, Ms. Kapatamoyo commended the HEAL Project for its impactful work in supporting over 300 children with education, meals and psychosocial care. She emphasized that while progress has been made in addressing HIV and TB, many families continue to face social and economic challenges, making initiatives like HEAL essential and deserving of sustained community support.

She further praised the project’s nearly 30 years of dedicated service and reaffirmed Zambart’s commitment to standing alongside the HEAL Project.

12/12/2025

Rhoda Ndubani, Zipime Weka Schista Study Manager is live on Crown TV talking about Female Ge***al Schistosomiasis .
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/174CAsMjkX/?mibextid=wwXIfr

11/12/2025

11/12/2025

Data from Zambart-Led Studies Show that Portable GeneXpert, CAD X-Rays, and Community Outreach Significantly Boost Early TB Detection

Zambart, together with regional and international collaborators, has been leading two pioneering multi-country studies aimed at transforming community-based tuberculosis (TB) detection in high-burden African settings. The findings from these studies were presented yesterday during a dissemination meeting held at Kanyama Level 1 General Hospital.

Conducted in peri-urban settlements across Lusaka in Zambia, Cape Town in South Africa, Harare in Zimbabwe, and Maputo in Mozambique, the XACT-3 and XACT-19 studies focused on densely populated communities characterised by overcrowding, high TB prevalence, and limited access to timely diagnostic services. Both projects explored innovative combinations of portable molecular diagnostics, digital chest X-ray technology, and computer-assisted detection (CAD) tools to improve early TB identification and accelerate access to treatment.

XACT-3 was designed as a randomised controlled trial comparing point-of-care (POC) GeneXpert testing using portable devices in mobile clinics with traditional centralized laboratory testing where sputum samples are transported to fixed facilities. The study assessed whether decentralizing molecular testing to the community level—using minimally trained health workers—could shorten diagnostic delays, reduce pretreatment loss-to-follow-up, and identify individuals who would otherwise go undiagnosed. It also integrated cough aerosol sampling and CAD X-rays to assess infectiousness and disease extent. The results were encouraging: 122 microbiologically confirmed TB cases were identified, and although the TB positivity rates were similar between the POC and centralized arms, point-of-care testing reduced the time to treatment initiation from eight days to just three.

This significant reduction demonstrated the value of bringing testing directly to communities and showed the feasibility of implementing such approaches at scale.
XACT-19 evaluated how digital chest X-ray with CAD, combined with molecular tools such as Xpert Ultra, could enhance active case finding for both TB and COVID-19. The study used a combination of randomised and observational designs to assess the performance of CAD-supported triage among high-risk individuals, asymptomatic community members, and participants presenting with COVID-19 symptoms.

At mid-point analysis, 3,237 participants had been screened and 118 were found to have microbiologically confirmed TB, yielding a positivity rate of 3.6% higher than that of many previous active case finding initiatives. CAD proved particularly valuable in improving the precision of screening and ensuring that Xpert Ultra tests were directed toward individuals most likely to have TB. The approach demonstrated strong potential for scalability, particularly in low-resource settings where the dual burden of TB and COVID-19 strains existing health systems.
Across both studies, more than 6,500 community members participated, making this one of the largest TB active case finding efforts of its kind in the region.

By combining rapid molecular diagnostics, digital imaging, and community outreach, the XACT-3 and XACT-19 studies highlight a future in which early TB detection is faster, more accessible, and more aligned with the realities of high-burden settings.

Taken together, the findings show that community-based TB screening is both effective and essential for closing the gap on undiagnosed TB. The use of CAD and GeneXpert technologies strengthens active case finding, and point-of-care testing significantly accelerates treatment initiation—reducing the period in which individuals can transmit the disease. These innovations offer scalable, evidence-based solutions that national TB programmes across the region can adapt and expand.

The success of the XACT-3 and XACT-19 studies marks an important step forward in developing approaches that can transform TB control across high-burden African communities in a quest to improve health for all.

London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine University of Cape Town Ministry of Health Zambia

09/12/2025

Zambart Senior Management Visits Zambart Facilities at Kanyama Level 1 After XACT 3 & 19 Dissemination

Some members of Zambart’s senior management conducted a tour of the Zambart facilities at Kanyama Level 1 General Hospital shortly after the XACT 3 and XACT 19 dissemination meeting. The visit provided an opportunity to appreciate the ongoing work being carried out at the site and engaged with staff.

Stay glued to our pages to find out what the results were for XACT 19 and XACT 3.

08/12/2025

Event Announcement!!
Excerpts from Copenhagen: The UNION World Conference on Lung Health 2025 hosted by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine TB Centre
https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/newsevents/events/excerpts-copenhagen-union-world-conference-lung-health-2025

Room
G08, Hybrid
Date
Tuesday 9 December 2025
Time
14:45 - 16:00 CAT

This is a hybrid event, featuring a selection of summary presentations from this year’s UNION conference. The event is open to all and no registration is required.

Each year, many LSHTM TB researchers participate in the UNION World Conference on Lung Health, the world's largest conference on TB and lung health. This year, the conference takes place in

05/12/2025

Zambart, in collaboration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Zambia, holds Trainers of Trainers Workshop in the fight against stigma and discrimination

The Expanded Total Facility Approach (TFA) Study recently facilitated a Training of Trainers workshop for clinical tutors as part of the Pre-Service activities, held in close collaboration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Zambia (NMCZ).

The TFA Study focuses on reducing HIV-related stigma and discrimination in health facilities—barriers that continue to limit access to quality prevention, treatment, and care services globally. The Total Facility Approach (TFA), successfully implemented in Ghana and Tanzania, is now being rolled out in Zambia for the first time.

The training aimed at:
1. Familiarize tutors with stigma-reduction exercises ahead of the revised 2026 curriculum.
2. Strengthen participatory methodologies for more effective learning.
3. Support reflection on personal beliefs, values, and attitudes that shape understanding of stigma and discrimination.

Gracing the event was the NMCZ Director of Education and Training, Mrs. Judith Chipili, who commended Zambart for its unwavering commitment to fighting stigma in health facilities.

The week-long event, held in Livingstone, brought together clinical tutors for meaningful discussions, shared learning, and renewed commitment to creating stigma-free health systems.
Together, we’re building a future where every client receives care free from stigma and discrimination.

03/12/2025

Zambart Joins National Commemoration of World AIDS Day 2025

On 1st December 2025, Zambart joined the nation in commemorating World AIDS Day 2025, a significant moment to reflect on progress made in the HIV response and to renew commitment toward ending AIDS as a public health threat.

This year’s theme, “Overcoming Disruption: Transforming the AIDS Response,” speaks to the urgent need for resilience, innovation, and adaptability in the face of evolving challenges.

The commemoration took place at Chawama’s Kuku Grounds, and was graced by the Minister of Health, Hon. Elijah Muchima.
The event brought together communities, civil society organizations, researchers, and stakeholders who gathered to honour lives impacted by HIV and to reaffirm their mission to accelerate Zambia’s HIV response.

On this World AIDS Day, Zambart stands in solidarity with all individuals, families, and communities affected by HIV, and reaffirms its dedication to supporting a healthier, more resilient Zambia.