Background: The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a serious global health problem that has negatively impacted the mental health of students.Methods: We conducted an online descriptive cross-sectional study among 273 undergraduate pharmacy students at the University of Zambia from August to September 2020. A partial proportional odds regression model was used to determine the predictors of anxiety. All statistical tests were set at 95% confidence level (p<0.05).Results: A response rate of 70% was obtained with the majority of the students being female 51.6%. Of the 273 respondents, 23.8% did not experience anxiety, 34.4% experienced mild anxiety, 24.9% experienced moderate anxiety while 16.9% experienced severe anxiety about COVID-19. It was also found that 61.2% of students reported that their attention to mental health increased during the COVID-19 pandemic whereas 44.3% reported an increased resting time with a significant reduction in relaxation 51.3% and physical activity 45.4% time. Factors that affected mental health included; reduced family care (OR: 2.27; 95% CI: 1.09-4.74), not changing attention to mental health (OR: 0.33; 95% CI: 0.18-0.62), being in the final year of study (OR: 0.33; 95% CI: 0.13-0.84), reduced time of resting (OR: 2.10; 95% CI: 1.26-3.50) and feeling helpless (OR: 0.42; 95% CI:0.23-0.75).Conclusions: COVID-19 negatively impacted the mental health and physical activity of pharmacy students at the University of Zambia. This can have negative health and academic outcomes for students going forward. Higher learning institutions and key stakeholders should implement measures to aid students to recover from the impact of COVID-19 on their mental health and physical activity.

Background: Several vaccines have been developed and administered since coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic in March 2020. In April 2021, the authorities in Zambia administered the first doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca® COVID-19 vaccine. However, little is known about the awareness and acceptability of the vaccines among the Zambian population. This study was undertaken to address this starting with undergraduate pharmacy students in Zambia. Materials and methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted among 326 undergraduate pharmacy students in Zambia using an online semi-structured questionnaire from 12th to 25th April 2021 and analysed using Stata version 16. Test of associations were undertaken using Pearson chi-square test or Fisher's exact test as appropriate. The multivariable logistic regression was used to investigate the determinants of awareness and acceptability. All statistical tests were performed at a 5% significance level and 95% confidence level. Results: Among 326 participants, 98.8% were aware of the COVID-19 vaccination programme but only 24.5% would accept the vaccine should it be made available to them. Awareness of the COVID-19 vaccine was influenced by religious beliefs (aOR=0.01, 95% CI: 0.01 to 0.20, p=0.004). Being male (aOR=1.78, 95% CI: 1.05 to 3.02, p=0.034) and single (aOR=2.61, 95% CI: 1.04 to 6.55, p=0.041) was associated with higher odds of accepting the vaccine. Being unemployed (aOR=0.31, 95% CI: 0.15 to 0.66, p=0.002) was associated with lower odds of vaccine acceptancy. Barriers to acceptance of the vaccine were possible side effects (78.5%) and scepticism about its effectiveness to prevent COVID-19 (10.2%). Conclusion: There was significant vaccine hesitancy towards COVID-19 vaccines among Zambian pharmacy students despite their awareness about the vaccines. Health authorities must work collaboratively with the Universities and other institutions to mitigate vaccine hesitancy, especially with pharmacy students a key part of the future healthcare workforce overseeing disease prevention strategies. These findings can help guide future interventions to address vaccine hesitancy to reduce future transmission rates of this virus.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a global public health problem that has affected the globe in different ways. There is little information published on the challenges and lessons learnt in responding to the COVID-19 epidemic in Zambia. Objective: To establish Zambia's response, lessons and the challenges experienced in the fight against COVID-19. Results: Since the emergence of COVID-19, Zambia has experienced three waves, with the third wave being the most severe. The Zambian government responded positively and effectively to all three pandemics with the help of cooperating partners. Zambia adopted the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended prevention methods such as hand hygiene, masking up in public, physical distancing, avoiding crowded areas and staying at home to prevent the further spread of the disease. Additionally, surveillance of COVID-19 was strengthened, which led to the early detection of cases. Besides, there has been a strong call for all Zambian adults to receive the COVID-19 vaccine as a way of controlling the epidemic. However, since the launch of the COVID-19 vaccination programs, there has been a high level of vaccine hesitancy, causing Zambia to fall below the 10% of the adult population required to be vaccinated. Conclusion: The Zambian government put in place effective strategies in the fight against COVID-19. However, a lack of resources, misinformation, myths and vaccine hesitancy posed challenges in the fight against COVID-19 in Zambia. There is a need for continuous public education and sensitization on COVID-19

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Background: Traditional medicine has employed Azadirachta indica to treat a variety of ailments. However, there is little information on the use of this plant in Zambia. Objective: To evaluate the phytochemicals and antibacterial activity of Azadirachta indica leaf extracts against Escherichia coli. Materials and Methods: This was a laboratory-based experimental study in which ethanol and water were used for extraction by maceration. Phytochemical analysis was then done on the leaf extract. Using the disc diffusion method, varying concentrations of A. indica aqueous and ethanolic extracts were used to test the antibacterial activity of A. indica against Escherichia coli. The sensitivity of the tested microorganisms to aqueous and ethanolic leaf extracts was shown by zones of inhibition after incubation. Results: The phytochemical screening of the A. indica leaves revealed the presence of phenolics and tannins in both the ethanol and aqueous extract. Saponins, flavonoids and alkaloids were only present in the aqueous extract. While steroids were only present in the ethanol extract. The antibacterial activity of A. indica leaves extract was determined by zones of inhibition which showed that both aqueous and ethanol extracts had activity against E. coli. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration was determined at 10 mg/mL for the aqueous extract and 20 mg/mL for the ethanol extract. The zones of inhibition increased with concentration. Conclusion: The extracts of A.

Improved knowledge and attitude towards COVID-19 preventive measures have been shown to slow down transmission rates and improve public health outcomes. Yet, there is a lack of information regarding knowledge and attitudes towards COVID-19 prevention measures among the general population in Zambia. This study assessed the knowledge and attitudes towards COVID-19 prevention measures among residents of the Lusaka District, Zambia. This cross-sectional study involved 453 participants from 20 th August to 10 th October 2021 using previously validated questionnaires. Data were analyzed using Stata 16.1 (Stata Corp, College Station, TX, United States). Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to analyze relationships between latent variables (knowledge and attitude). Of the 453 participants, 52.3% were female. Overall knowledge of COVID-19 prevention measures was 85.2% while attitude was 46.2%. SEM showed no evidence of an association between knowledge of COVID-19 preventive measures and attitudes towards the preventive measures (r=0.01, p=0.071). However, there was a significant association between young adults vs adults and the frequency of hand sanitizing using alcohol-based hand rub (p=0.036). Additionally, there was evidence of a difference between the frequency of covering the mouth with a bent elbow when coughing or sneezing and the age group, with adults doing this practice more often than young adults (p=0.011). Finally, young adults had the highest average scores for attitude; 2.54 (SD=1.39), compared to adults; 2.22 (SD=1.43) (p=0.027). Despite knowledge of COVID-19 prevention measures being relatively high among Lusaka residents, their attitudes towards these measures were sub-optimal and can potentially affect preventive measures currently in place.

Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has negatively affected the education sector globally. This has resulted in learning institutions adopting e-learning techniques. E-learning implementation in higher education continues to gain prominence in both developed and developing countries. Most universities are exploring different ways of using information and communications technology (ICT). However, ICT remains a challenge more especially for students who come from rural areas. Aim This study was aimed at exploring the factors that affect access to e-learning among rural-based pharmacy students in Zambia. Methods A qualitative case study was conducted among ten (10) purposively sampled pharmacy students at the University of Zambia. The study participants were from the Manying, a district of North-Western Province, the Sinda district of Eastern Province, the Nalolo district of Western Province, the Chipili district of Luapula Province and the Mbala district of Northern Province. Semistructured interviews were used to collect data from the respondents. Data were analyzed using the framework analysis. The sociodemographic characteristics indicate that ten (10) respondents were drawn from Zambia’s five (5) provinces. Six qualitative themes were generated these included devices used for e-learning; the effectiveness of the devices; student performance; internet connectivity; and electrification of the houses. Key findings suggest that the most commonly used device was a smartphone, which posed challenges to effective learner participation in e-learning. Poor internet connectivity, non-electrification of students’ houses, electricity outages, and costs-associated with internet use negatively affected students in accessing online learning and could adversely affect their academic activities and performance. Conclusion The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected access to e-learning among rural pharmacy students in Zambia. The implications of the challenges faced by the rural pharmacy students are that their academic activities and performance were negatively affected. Therefore, this posed a threat to the rights to universal access to education of the rural students who were mostly venerable.