(TB CAP)/Zambia at a glance

Official name: Tuberculosis Control Assistance Program (TB CAP)/Zambia

Dates: 2006 – 2010

Areas served: Luapula, Copperbelt, North Western, Central and Northern provinces

Funded by: USAID five-year cooperative agreement awarded to Tuberculosis Coalition for Technical Assistance (TBCTA) with the Royal Netherlands Tuberculosis Foundation (KNCV) as the lead and managing partner

Objectives:
• To strengthen and expand quality Directly Observed Treatment, Short-course (DOTS) in Luapula, Copperbelt, North Western, Central and Northern provinces in Zambia
• To improve the collaboration between TB and HIV programs
• To increase community involvement and awareness of TB
• To support human capacity development efforts

FHI's role:
• Management and coordination of the program
• Coordination of reporting to USAID, the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Tuberculosis Coalition for Technical Assistance (TBCTA)
• Implementation of TB/HIV collaborative activities

TB CAP strategies:
• Integration of activities within the MOH's National Strategic Plan (NHSP) and Zambia National TB Strategic Plan (NTSP)
• Close collaboration with the MOH, defined through a Memorandum of Understanding

Partners in Zambia: Research Institute of Tuberculosis/Japan Anti-Tuberculosis Association (RIT/JATA) and the World Health Organization (WHO)

Achievements to date:
The TB CAP consortium has provided valued technical, administrative, programmatic and financial support to the MOH at national, provincial and health facility levels. Support has been provided for laboratory services (JATA and FHI), collaborative TB/HIV activities (FHI), and DOTS strengthening and enhancement (WHO).

In year three, TB CAP hired one laboratory technologist and fifteen laboratory microscopists, increasing staff capacity to provide laboratory services. This helps mitigate a critical laboratory staff shortage in TB control.

The project continues to receive guidance from the Zambia National Tuberculosis Control Program (NTP) and the Chest Diseases Laboratory, and has partnered with the Tropical Diseases Research Center (TDRC) to scale up support to the Northern provinces for external quality assessments.  TDRC receives funding support for these from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

TB CAP has also worked closely with PEPFAR partners including the Zambia Prevention, Care and Treatment Partnership (ZPCT) to renovate laboratories, and works with ZPCT and JHPIEGO to provide routine HIV counseling and opt-out HIV testing for TB patients. TB CAP is well placed to support implementation of more collaborative TB/HIV services, community support systems and, enhancing the NTP initiative for public-private partnerships in the five provinces.

See Also:
Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS (topic page)