Zambia Quarterly Report: Supporting, Mobilizing, and Accelerating Research for Tuberculosis Elimination (SMART4TB)

Launched in August 2022, the five-year cooperative agreement will invest up to $200 million to achieve this goal. The project has planned to implement research studies with the Zambia mission and in-country local partners to identify effective person-centered methods for finding, treating, and preventing TB, strengthen local capacity to conduct high-quality research, and engage communities to build demand for new interventions. The ADAPT-Adults study is one of the research activities implemented by SMART4TB in Zambia. The overall goal of this activity is to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy and acceptability/usability of novel point-of-care (POC) TB diagnostics in adults with presumptive TB. The study comprises four key sub-activities that will collaborate with the SMART4TB Consortium and the USAID Zambia Country Mission to ensure the standardized implementation of the study protocol at the Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ). The sub-activities include protocol adaptation/approvals, study site selection and preparation, participant recruitment and enrollment, and data collection and analysis. The SMILE-TB study is another research activity implemented by SMART4TB in Zambia. The study aims to develop sites and implement the SMILE-TB protocol at these sites during the life of the project. The study has identified the University Teaching Hospital Zambia, University of Zambia, School of Medicine as one of the study sites after receiving Mission Concurrence. The study will recruit and follow-up study participants at these sites to evaluate the effectiveness of the SMILE-TB protocol. The TB Vaccine Readiness activity is also implemented by SMART4TB in Zambia. This activity will undertake an evidence-based approach to identify priority countries and target populations, and collect preliminary data related to TB vaccine readiness broadly. The activity will provide critical information to inform the development of a TB vaccine and ensure that the vaccine is effective and safe for use in Zambia and other priority countries. The ESI Program is an Early-Stage Investigator Training and Mentorship Program designed to support local and country leadership of SMART4TB scientific research, protocols, and outputs. The program aims to strengthen local capacity to conduct high-quality research and engage communities to build demand for new interventions. The program will provide training and mentorship to early-stage investigators to develop their research skills and prepare them for leadership roles in TB research. SMART4TB has been actively engaging in continuous dialogue and successfully meeting the deliverables outlined in the workplan for the first year. The consortium has developed a Year 1 workplan to implement these studies throughout the duration of the project. After engaging in discussions with both the Zambia USAID Mission and USAID Washington DC Team, SMART4TB obtained Mission Concurrence on May 8th, 2023. The project has made significant progress in the first year, and the activities will continue to be implemented throughout the duration of the project.