Annual Report FY2017: The Eradicate Tuberculosis Project

The project is a five-year initiative funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and is implemented in partnership with the Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ), the National Tuberculosis Program (NTP), the private sector, and other stakeholders. The project's two main objectives are to increase the number of individuals screened for TB in the target provinces by 50 percent and to increase TB treatment success rate to 85 percent and beyond. The project focuses on four main tasks in the six provinces of Northern, Luapula, Muchinga, Copperbelt, Central, and North-Western. These tasks include pursuing high-quality DOTS expansion and enhancement, addressing TB-HIV, Multi-drug resistant (MDR) TB, and the needs of poor and vulnerable populations, engaging all categories of providers, and enabling and promoting research. The project also maintains a keen focus on ensuring that all activities are informed by the activity's Gender Integration Strategy and are gender-sensitive and responsive. During the first quarter of the project, the team made significant progress in consortium development, engagement with USAID and GRZ, partnering with TB stakeholders, and recruitment of project personnel. The PATH leadership convened meetings with each partner to review the overall intent of the project and their scopes of work, as well as reporting requirements, hiring needs, and other logistics. The team also held a three-day ETB Partner Meeting with leadership and selected staff from four of the partners to initiate the year 1 work planning process. The project team engaged with USAID and GRZ through a post-award meeting with USAID on June 15, 2017, and a formal project introduction meeting with the Director of Public Health and Research, Dr. Kennedy Malama, and the NTP Manager, Dr. Silvia Chila-Simwanza, and their respective staff on June 22, 2017. The team also met with representatives from the World Bank's Southern Africa Tuberculosis and Health Systems Support Project to share project objectives, agree on communication strategies, and identify opportunities to coordinate activities. The project team also made progress in recruiting key personnel, with a consultant serving as Interim Chief of Party for the first two months of the project to oversee and ensure rapid start-up. The consortium partners also moved quickly to hire necessary staff, with key personnel including the Chief of Party, Deputy Chief of Party, Finance Director, Strategic Information Advisor, TB Technical Advisor, Planning and Logistics Officer, and Project Associate. The project's implementation is expected to have a significant impact on reducing TB-related mortality in Zambia, and the team is committed to ensuring that all activities are informed by the activity's Gender Integration Strategy and are gender-sensitive and responsive. The project's progress will be closely monitored and evaluated to ensure that it meets its objectives and makes a meaningful contribution to the fight against TB in Zambia.