Representatives from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Atlanta paid a supportive visit to the Telemedicine in Tuberculosis (TB) project under the Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ).

Among the delegates that visited the project site at Kalingalinga clinic were CDC TB focal point persons Ms. Brittany Moore and MS. Jennifer Harris, CDC Zambia Senior Medical Advisors Dr. Dalila Zachary and Dr. Linos Mwiinga, Dr. Mwape from Lusaka Provincial Health Office (LPHO)  and Dr. Patrick Lungu Director National TB and Leprosy Program.

During the visit, CDC Atlanta representative Ms. Brittany Moore congratulated the Telemed project for the commendable job they were doing at Kalingalinga health facility in Lusaka to ensure that patients receive quality TB treatment, prevention and care services.

Ms. Brittany Moore noted that she was impressed with the effort and sacrifice made by the team in making sure that people are followed up every week in the community outreach programs and not only at the facility.

“The community outreach services are a great effort in the fight against TB”, said Ms. Moore.

She added that the community outreach services and the different service delivery models of care at Kalingalinga clinic are impressive as these models have helped increase the uptake of Tuberculosis Treatment (TBT).

The objectives of the CIDRZ Telemedicine project include:

• To implement TB prevention treatment (TPT) in 6 Multi Month Dispensation  (MMD) and Anti TB Treatment  Differentiated Service Delivery (ATT DSD) models at five (5) sites in Lusaka and Livingstone districts.
• To assess the acceptability of TPT in 6MMD and ATT DSD models at implementation sites.
• To assess trends in TPT coverage and completion rates from pre-implementation through implementation periods using aggregate program performance data
• To assess trends in ATT completion rates from pre-implementation through implementation periods using aggregate program performance data
• To inform the Ministry of Health on a systematic approach for digital follow-up and screening for TB and TPT Recipients of Care (ROCs) aligned to MMD models of care.

The Telemedicine in TB project is funded under the CDC COVID-19 special funds and is scheduled to complete patient follow ups at the end of March 2023.