The Impact of Tuberculosis on Zambia and the Zambian Nursing Workforce

In Zambia, the incidence of tuberculosis (TB) has greatly increased in the last 10 years. This article describes Zambia and highlights the country’s use of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals as a framework to guide TB treatment programmes. An overview of TB in Zambia is provided. Data related to TB cases at the county’s main referral hospital, the University Teaching Hospital (UTH), is discussed. Treatment policies and barriers are described. Zambian nurses have been greatly affected by the rise in the morbidity and mortality of nurses with TB. This article explains the impact of TB on the Zambian nursing workforce. Review of Zambian government programmes designed to address this health crisis and targeted interventions to reduce TB among nurses are offered.