The Tuberculosis Local Organisations Network (TBLON) Project, supported by the United States Government, contributes to TB prevention, care, and treatment in Zambia through responsive data collection and analysis.

The Project, implemented by the Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ) in support of the Ministry of Health has a dedicated team under TBLON. This team is composed of Data Associates who have been collecting tuberculosis data from health facilities in Lusaka as part of the Project’s operations.

This team includes Ms Queen Lungu, Mr Besamu Lungu, Ms Christine Mudenda, and Mr Kafula Mubemba.

Ms Queen Lungu, one of the Data Associates, outlined that the team collect weekly, monthly, and quarterly data on all TBLON indicators from health facilities across the country. “We gather patient data from TB registers and files, ensuring that the information is complete and up to date”, said Ms Lungu.

She added that the data collected includes critical indicators such as the number of TB patients notified and initiated on treatment, contact tracing and patients initiated on TB Preventive Treatment (TPT), among others.

The data collected provides a comprehensive overview of the TB situation in Zambia, including the number of patients, those on treatment, and treatment outcomes.

This information is entered into the TBLON-managed Facility Information Management System (FIMS), which captures data from supported facilities across Luapula, Muchinga, Southern, Central, Copperbelt, Lusaka, Northern, and Northwestern Provinces.

The Project uses this data to generate reports that inform policy, guide TB interventions, and improve health outcomes nationwide.