TREATS has been operating at various sites in Zambia, including the Chawama First Level Hospital in Lusaka, which has accommodated the TREATS team since April 2018. Due to increased demand for space at the hospital, a brand new building has opened to house TREATS for the duration of the project.
The new building, commissioned on the 1 March by the District Health Office and Chawama First Level Hospital, is funded by Zambart and will belong to the Ministry of Health when the TREATS project ends.
Dr Mwila, representing Dr Consity Mwale, District Health Director, and Dr Shula, Chawama First Level Hospital Superintendent, attended the opening ceremony. The TREATS project team was represented by Dr Kwame Shanaube, Country Principle Investigator and Dr Modupe Amofa-Sekyi, Study Manager (incidence of infection cohort).
Dr Kwame Shanaube said: “Zambart has had a long standing affiliation with the Ministry of Health since starting out as a small research unit under collaboration between the University of Zambia and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
“In Lusaka district, this relationship is further enhanced by the strong ties we have formed with the District Health Office. Together we have maintained a strong relationship over matters related to public health and the overall wellbeing of our communities.”
In addition to TREATS, Zambart has worked on many successful projects in the area. As early as 2005, the ZAMSTAR study began conducting activities at Chawama hospital, followed by PopART which ran from 2013 until 2018.
