1. Sustainable Domestic Health Financing

This sub-theme focuses on strengthening domestic resource mobilization and improving efficiency in health expenditure to safeguard essential health services amid declining external support and evolving partnership models.

Focus areas include:

• Domestic revenue generation strategies for health
• Health insurance models and risk pooling mechanisms
• Cost-effectiveness and allocative efficiency studies
• Public financial management reforms
• Strategic purchasing and provider payment reforms
• Economic evaluations informing policy decisions

The sub-theme supports countries transition toward greater financial sustainability and national ownership of health system investments.

2. Leveraging Digital Health, Artificial Intelligence, and emerging technologies

This sub-theme highlights innovations in digital transformation that enhance health system responsiveness, accountability, and performance.

Focus areas include:

• Electronic health records and interoperable systems
• Artificial intelligence and machine learning
• Integrated disease surveillance response platforms
• Real-time data analytics and dashboards
• Digital governance and data security
• Transition to full government ownership and sustainability of digital systems

Submissions should demonstrate how digital tools improve quality of care, strengthen decision-making at facility and district levels, and support efficient health system management.

3. One Health Approaches and Public Health Security

This sub-theme recognizes the interconnectedness of humans, animals, and the environment. And the need for local, national and global collaboration to protect the population from disease and other emerging threats

Focus areas include:

• Strengthening zoonotic disease prevention and control
• Improve collaboration across health, agriculture, wildlife, and environmental sectors
• Strengthening local, national, and global efforts to detect, prevent, and respond to diseases and emergencies
• Addressing antimicrobial resistance through integrated strategies
• Promoting environmental health protection
• Enhance multisectoral coordination frameworks
• Developing policy models for operationalizing One Health at national and district levels
• Early warning systems and Emergency preparedness and response frameworks
• Climate-sensitive disease patterns
• Droughts, floods, and environmental displacement
• Health facility resilience to climate shocks
• Multi-sectoral public health security strategies

Submissions should demonstrate how evidence informs preparedness planning and protects populations.

4. Health Systems Strengthening

This sub-theme examines sustainable initiatives to strengthen core health system building blocks to achieve better health outcomes, equity, and efficiency.

Focus areas include:

• Human resources for health
• Retention strategies in underserved and rural areas
• Task-shifting and task-sharing models
• Mental health and well-being of the health workforce
• Service integration models
• Cost-effective investments in infrastructure and supply chains
• service delivery and Information systems
• Access to essential medicines
• Financing and leadership/governance.
• Local Pharmaceutical Manufacturing for Sustainable Supply Chains

Submissions should emphasize sustainability, scalability, and system-level impact.

5. Gender-Responsive, Equity-Focused, and Community-Engagement

This sub-theme elevates inclusive and rights-based approaches to health research and implementation while addressing gender and other inequalities to meet the different needs of the population.

Focus areas include:

• Gender responsive research (GRR) methods, data collection and analysis
• Gender responsive knowledge translation for policy and practice
• Disaggregation of data by gender, age, disability, geographical, and socioeconomic status
• Addresses Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) across the life course
• Prioritizes adolescent and youth health
• Promotes male engagement in reproductive and family health
• Strengthens maternal, newborn, and child health equity
• Meaningfully engages communities in co-design and participatory research
• Addresses barriers faced by women, children, persons with disabilities, and rural populations

6. Research Capacity Development, Ethics, and Knowledge Translation

This sub-theme directly reinforces the mandate of the National Health Research Authority and how the research community aligns to the mandate.

Focus areas include:

• Strengthening institutional and individual research capacity
• Ethical governance of health research
• Clinical Trials landscape and their influence in health care
• Implementation science
• Knowledge translation systems: frameworks, practices, guidelines and mechanisms
• Institutional mechanisms for integrating research into planning and programs

The objective is to move beyond publication toward structured uptake of research into policy, practice, and program implementation.

7. Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) and Multimorbidity

This sub-theme addresses the growing burden of non-communicable diseases in Zambia.

Focus areas include:

• Prevention and control of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancers, and chronic respiratory diseases
• Mental health and substance use disorders
• Integrated service delivery models for NCDs
• Multimorbidity management
• Screening and early detection strategies
• Lifestyle and behavioral risk factor interventions
• Economic burden and financing implications of NCDs

Submissions should highlight scalable interventions and policy-relevant findings.

8. Communicable and Neglected Tropical Diseases

This sub-theme focuses on the prevention, control, and elimination of communicable diseases and neglected tropical diseases that remain significant contributors to morbidity and mortality in Zambia.

Focus areas include:

• Prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of priority communicable diseases
• Elimination strategies for neglected tropical diseases
• Sustainability and transition planning for disease programs

9. Traditional, Complementary, and Alternative Medicine (TCAM)

This sub-theme acknowledges the continued use and cultural relevance of traditional and complementary medicine within the health landscape.

Focus areas include:

• Safety, efficacy, and regulation of traditional medicines
• Integration models between conventional and traditional health systems
• Documentation and preservation of indigenous knowledge
• Ethical considerations in traditional medicine research
• Quality assurance and pharmacovigilance
• Community perceptions and utilization patterns

The objective is to strengthen evidence-informed dialogue and regulatory frameworks while respecting cultural practices and safeguarding public health.

10. Research, Development and Innovation for Health System Resilience

This sub-theme focuses on advancing research and development (R&D) to strengthen health system resilience, accelerate the translation of scientific discoveries into practical solutions, and enhance any country’s capacity to respond to emerging and persistent health challenges. It emphasizes locally driven innovation, clinical research, and evidence generation that informs policy, improves service delivery, and strengthens preparedness for future public health threats.

Focus areas include:

• Clinical trials, including drug, vaccine, and therapeutic trials
• Operational research embedded in immunization and disease control programs
• Innovative approaches to immunization delivery and coverage improvement
• Development and evaluation of new diagnostics, technologies, and digital health tools
• Implementation research to scale up proven interventions
• Health product development and regulatory science
• Public–private partnerships in health innovation
• Strengthening national research infrastructure and ethical oversight systems

The sub-theme supports Zambia’s commitment to building a resilient, self-reliant health research ecosystem capable of generating context-specific solutions and accelerating the journey from discovery to impact.