{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,25]],"date-time":"2026-08-25T16:23:49Z","timestamp":1787675029642,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":9,"publisher":"Springer Science and Business Media LLC","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,25]],"date-time":"2026-08-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787616000000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,25]],"date-time":"2026-08-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787616000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"funder":[{"name":"This work was supported by  ZhejiangUniversity and the University of Edinburgh"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["link.springer.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Infect Dis Poverty"],"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) remain a major public health challenge in Zambia and other low\u2011 and middle\u2011income countries, and there is concern that the COVID\u201119 pandemic has further disrupted progress towards control and elimination targets. This study explored how COVID\u201119 affected NTD programmes, funding, and partnerships in Zambia from the perspective of national\u2011level stakeholders.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>We conducted a qualitative case study using semi\u2011structured interviews with key informants involved in NTD policy, programming, or surveillance in Zambia. Fourteen participants were purposively sampled from government ministries, the Zambia National Public Health Institute, international organisations, and academia. Interviews were conducted in person, audio\u2011recorded, transcribed verbatim, and anonymised. Data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis, with codes developed from the transcripts and iteratively grouped into themes through constant comparison.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Five overarching themes were identified: (1) public health infrastructure; (2) disease prioritisation\u00a0and surveillance; (3) resource allocation and funding challenges; (4) collaboration and partnerships; and (5) direct impacts of COVID\u201119 on NTD activities. Participants reported that COVID\u201119 exposed and intensified pre\u2011existing weaknesses in health system capacity, routine NTD surveillance, and financing, contributing to delays and reduced coverage of mass drug administration (MDA) and other interventions. Donor funding reallocation and the withdrawal or scaling back of some international partners created further uncertainty for NTD programmes, although various national institutions and the World Health Organization (WHO) helped sustain essential activities. At the same time, the pandemic period coincided with the strengthening of the Zambia National Public Health Institute and the development of updated NTD and One Health strategic plans. Stakeholders viewed these institutional changes as opportunities to build a more resilient NTD response.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>COVID\u201119 disrupted NTD programmes in Zambia primarily by amplifying long\u2011standing structural vulnerabilities in funding, surveillance, and service delivery, rather than through complete programme collapse. Strengthening routine NTD data systems, securing more predictable domestic financing, operationalising One Health and NTD master plans, and building more resilient, locally owned partnerships will be essential to recover lost ground and protect NTD control efforts from future shocks.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1186\/s40249-026-01491-0","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,25]],"date-time":"2026-08-25T03:35:31Z","timestamp":1787628931000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Impact of COVID-19 on neglected tropical diseases in Zambia: a qualitative study of stakeholder perspectives"],"prefix":"10.1186","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Caitlin Brigid","family":"Butala","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jenna","family":"Fyfe","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Noreen","family":"Machila","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Susan Christina","family":"Welburn","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,25]]},"reference":[{"issue":"5","key":"1491_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e0009373","DOI":"10.1371\/JOURNAL.PNTD.0009373","volume":"15","author":"A Casulli","year":"2021","unstructured":"Casulli A. New global targets for NTDs in the WHO roadmap 2021\u20132030. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2021;15(5):e0009373. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/JOURNAL.PNTD.0009373.","journal-title":"PLoS Negl Trop Dis"},{"key":"1491_CR2","unstructured":"ZNPHI. ZNPHI\u2014A Center for Excellence in Public Health Security. 2024. https:\/\/w2.znphi.co.zm\/. Accessed 06 Mar 2024."},{"key":"1491_CR3","unstructured":"WHO. Zambia prioritizes zoonotic diseases | WHO | Regional Office for Africa. 2023. https:\/\/www.afro.who.int\/countries\/zambia\/news\/zambia-prioritizes-zoonotic-diseases. Accessed 23 Apr 2024."},{"key":"1491_CR4","unstructured":"Jewell BL, Mudimu E, Stover John, Debra ten B, Phillips Andrews N, Jennifer SA, et al. The cost of inaction: COVID-19-related service disruptions could cause hundreds of thousands of extra deaths from HIV. 2020. accessed 10\/5\/2020 https:\/\/figshare.com\/articles\/Estimation_of_the_potential_effects_of_disruption_to_HIV_programs_in_sub-Saharan_Africa_caused_by_COVID-19_results_from_multiple_models_APPENDIX\/12279932\/1. 10.6084\/m9.figshare.12279914.v1."},{"issue":"3","key":"1491_CR5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"253","DOI":"10.1093\/TRSTMH\/TRAA156","volume":"115","author":"V Malizia","year":"2021","unstructured":"Malizia V, Giardina F, Vegvari C, Bajaj S, Mcrae-Mckee K, Anderson RM, et al. Modelling the impact of COVID-19-related control programme interruptions on progress towards the WHO 2030 target for soil-transmitted helminths. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 2021;115(3):253\u201360. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1093\/TRSTMH\/TRAA156.","journal-title":"Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg"},{"issue":"7","key":"1491_CR6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pntd.0008412","volume":"14","author":"DE McMahonid","year":"2020","unstructured":"McMahonid DE, Peters GA, Iversid LC, Freemanid EE. Global resource shortages during covid-19: bad news for low-income countries. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2020;14(7):1\u20133. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pntd.0008412.","journal-title":"PLoS Negl Trop Dis"},{"key":"1491_CR7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s40249-024-01223-2","author":"CB Butala","year":"2024","unstructured":"Butala CB, Cave RNR, Fyfe J, Coleman PG, Yang G, Welburn SC. Impact of COVID-19 on the neglected tropical diseases: a scoping review. Infect Dis Poverty. 2024. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1186\/s40249-024-01223-2.","journal-title":"Infect Dis Poverty"},{"key":"1491_CR8","unstructured":"Ministry of Health. (2023, March 1). Zambia Neglected Tropical Diseases Master Plan (2022 - 2026) | ESPEN. https:\/\/espen.afro.who.int\/tools-resources\/documents\/zambia-neglected-tropical-diseases-master-plan-2022-2026.  Accessed 27 Mar 2023."},{"key":"1491_CR9","unstructured":"ZNPHI. ZNPHI Launches the National One Health Strategic Plan\u2014ZNPHI. 2023. Available from: https:\/\/w2.znphi.co.zm\/2023\/02\/20\/znphi-launches-the-national-one-health-strategic-plan\/. Accessed 04 Apr 2024."}],"container-title":["Infectious Diseases of Poverty"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/content\/pdf\/10.1186\/s40249-026-01491-0.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1186\/s40249-026-01491-0","content-type":"text\/html","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/content\/pdf\/10.1186\/s40249-026-01491-0.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,25]],"date-time":"2026-08-25T16:02:04Z","timestamp":1787673724000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/10.1186\/s40249-026-01491-0"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,25]]},"references-count":9,"journal-issue":{"issue":"1","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,12]]}},"alternative-id":["1491"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1186\/s40249-026-01491-0","relation":{},"ISSN":["2049-9957"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2049-9957","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,25]]},"assertion":[{"value":"10 February 2026","order":1,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"value":"4 August 2026","order":2,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"value":"25 August 2026","order":3,"name":"first_online","label":"First Online","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"value":"The authors declare no competing interests.","order":1,"name":"Ethics","label":"Competing interests","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Declarations"}}],"article-number":"93"}}