Announcing the winners, Dr Henning Gädeke, Chair of the EDCTP Association Board, praised the significant public health impact of Zambart over many years: “It’s a perfect example of how long-term cooperation of African and European partners can lead to results that really make a difference in people’s lives.”
Founded in 1988, Zambart is a partnership between the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK, and the University of Zambia. It is a highly interdisciplinary research centre with a focus on HIV/AIDS, TB and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).
The unit has a practical focus, and has developed particular expertise in the evaluation of complex and community-based interventions and implementation research, building on its strengths in community engagement. It has also developed strong links with local policymakers, with its work having a significant influence on national policy and practice for TB and HIV care.
With no core funding, Zambart has been highly successful at attracting funding from international agencies, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Wellcome Trust as well as EDCTP. It has contributed to many landmark studies, including international TB vaccine trials and innovative TB case finding studies.
Highly networked
Zambart is part of numerous global consortia including the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) and the Pangea Consortium, a network of African, European and US researchers identifying individual and population-level factors driving HIV transmission in sub-Saharan Africa.
As well as its close links with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, it is also developing a partnership with the Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM) in Belgium, in order to strengthen implementation research in Zambia, in partnership with the University of Zambia.
Strengthening capacity
The Unit has a particular interest in capacity building. It has hosted multiple early-career researchers, including master’s students supported by the EDCTP and Africa CDC epidemiology and biostatistics fellowship programme. It is part of the CREATE PhD programme, which is training 50 South-North fellows from the UK and from Africa, as well as the Global Health EDCTP3-funded SOFAR project, through which four master’s students, six PhD students, and two postdoctoral researchers are being trained at Zambart.
Accepting the award on behalf of the Zambart team, Executive Director Dr Kwame Shanaube described how it has given the unit a welcome boost: “Your recognition of the Zambart research team as the outstanding research team for 2025 has re-energised and refuelled us…This recognition inspires us to continue pushing boundaries and pursuing research that impacts health policy and practice.”