On 1^st December, Mr. Hidenobu Sobashima, Ambassador of Japan to the Republic of Zambia, and Ms. Yuko Matsuoka, Acting Representative of Japan Anti-Tuberculosis Association (JATA) Zambia Office, signed a grant contract amounting to 443,334 United States Dollars, or approximately 4.4 million Zambian Kwacha, for the implementation of a project of the Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects,  “Comprehensive TB and HIV Control with a Strengthened Community Participation in Rural Area in Chongwe District, Zambia, Phase Three”.

During Phase Three of the project, JATA will continue to train and support the TB Treatment Supporters, train the nurses, and work for the capacity building on X-ray photo taking and reading, among others, with a view to finding TB patients, diagnosing them, and strengthening their treatment in a comprehensive manner, in cooperation with the Chongwe District Health Office, Chongwe District Hospital, Chongwe Rural Health Centre, Kanakantapa Rural Health Centre and Ngwerere Rural Health Centre.
 
The activities by JATA will enlighten the people about TB and HIV/AIDS, support the TB patients, including those of co-infection of TB and HIV/AIDS, and strengthen the capacity to diagnose TB and to report and record the symptoms in Chongwe District.
 
Through the “Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO projects” scheme, the Government of Japan provides grant assistance to Japanese NGOs which implement economic and social development projects in developing countries.
 
To read the speech by Ambassador Sobashima at this ceremony, please click here.