As part of our ongoing efforts to strengthen collaborative research, CIDRZ held a strategic engagement meeting with a visiting delegation from the UAB – The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) to discuss joint institutional priorities, research collaborations, and opportunities for future partnership. The delegation was received by CIDRZ Interim Chief Executive Officer, Dr Carolyn Bolton, alongside the Executive Committee and the Leadership Team.

During the meeting, discussions centered on CIDRZ’s organisational priorities, UAB’s global-local health agenda, and the ongoing UAB and CIDRZ partnership. Presenters from selected CIDRZ departments highlighted ongoing work, including HIV Implementation Science initiatives such as Person-Centered Care (PCC), Patient-Centered Outcomes Research (PCOR), Nexus integrated approach, and the Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health research portfolio.

Delegates were also briefed on other initiatives, including the International Epidemiology Databases to Evaluate AIDS – Non-Communicable Diseases (IeDEA NCD), the Task-shifting and Task-sharing Package of Essential Non-communicable Disease Interventions (TASKPEN), the Package of Essential Non-communicable Disease Interventions Plus (PEN-Plus), and Social and Behavioural Science Studies.

The meeting provided a platform for interactive discussions on expanding collaborative research, exploring multi-institutional grant opportunities, and identifying areas for joint programmatic activities.

As part of the engagement, the delegation also visited laboratories at Chainda South Clinic, the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) Children’s Hospital, and the Women and Newborn Hospital, gaining a better understanding of Zambia’s diagnostic, laboratory, and clinical services.