Faculty from UAB work with partners at the Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ), a non-governmental organization founded in 2001 as a collaboration between UAB, the University of Zambia, the School of Medicine, and the Zambian government as a center to conduct maternal-child health research in Zambia.
Since then, faculty from UAB have worked with researchers at CIDRZ to address a range of pertinent research questions, originally focused on the prevention of perinatal transmission of HIV and now encompassing a broad array of both infectious and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) including, syphilis, tuberculosis, hepatitis, and maternal, newborn, and child health. In 2011, CIDRZ was incorporated as an independent, Zambian organization. Today, CIDRZ has over 600 staff, researchers, trainees and volunteers; affiliates with many universities; and has on-site faculty from UAB as well as visiting UAB Medicine faculty, staff, fellows, and interns.
More specifically, UAB faculty from the Departments of Pediatrics and OB/GYN collaborate with Zambian and international partners to provide training to birth attendants using a newborn care training program, strengthening postnatal care services, including improving care at the NICUs, and setting up KMC rooms, in response to high neonatal mortality rates. Additionally, an R01 assessing the impact of a sports-based adolescent sexual and reproductive health curriculum on the uptake of health services amongst adolescent girls was conducted in Lusaka. Faculty continue to explore additional research opportunities and are involved in both North-to-South and South-to-North initiatives.
Leading UAB Faculty for Zambia Initiatives
Erica C. Bjornstad, M.D., Ph.D., MPH