Two (2) Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ)– Research fellows have been awarded grants by the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (RSTMH) in partnership with the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) as part of the 2020 Small Grants Programme.

Evelyn Kunda Ng’andu – CIDRZ Research Fellow

Evelyn Kunda Ng’andu and Mwiza Nyasa-Haambokoma have been awarded £5,000 each to carry out research on some of the Public health issues surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic in Zambia for a period of 1 year.

Evelyn Kunda Ng’ andu, a research fellow under the Research Department will carry out a qualitative exploratory research study titled – “Ethical dilemmas in times of COVID- 19 screening and tracing methods in the Zambian context”.

The study will explore the effectiveness of the use of a phone call to track and trace persons, who would have indicated that they travelled out of the country and may have been exposed to COVID-19. It will also explore the ethical issues and dilemmas that these methods pose.

Mwiza Nyasa-Haambokoma – CIDRZ Research Fellow

Another research fellow Mwiza Nyasa-Haambokoma, who is under the Social behavioural Change Department will carry out an exploratory research study titled – “Informational and structural barriers to uptake of preventive behaviours among Healthcare workers (HCW) working in both isolation and non-isolation sites during COVID 19 in Zambia”.

This research will explore HCWs’ perspectives on their knowledge and skills needs, their attitudes towards, and their ability to practice preventive behaviors in the context of COVID-19 in Zambia. The outcome of this research will help inform interventions that reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission in health care settings.

Over the last 3 years the RSTMH has been awarding small grants to early career researchers based across the world. The small grants often represent the first opportunity for those early in their careers to test out an idea and manage their own research project including budgeting, staffing, procurement, and producing reports.

The purpose of the small grants is to enable early career researchers and global health professionals in the field of tropical medicine or global health to undertake clinical or scientific research or fieldwork, as stand-alone projects or distinct elements within larger projects.