The essence of the launch
In global health research, a project launch typically marks the beginning of formal activities, providing an opportunity to share project aims and implications with stakeholders. For ZAFI, however, the launches held in Butajira and Batu on 24 and 25 June 2025 went beyond this—they were celebrations of a project shaped from the outset by community input gathered through consultative sessions. These events reaffirmed that the health challenges being addressed are shared, and clarified the roles of all stakeholders in tackling them.
The participants
Launch workshops were held in Butajira and Batu, bringing together:
- Community representatives (opinion leaders, religious leaders, women’s and youth representatives)
- Formal administrators at zonal and district levels
- Public sector representatives (health, agriculture, and environmental protection)
- Health facility administrators, frontline health workers from health centres and hospitals, and community-based health extension workers
This broad participation underscored the multi-sectoral nature of the project.
The process
The workshops opened with welcome remarks from the Ethiopia site leads at Addis Ababa University—Profs. Mirgissa Kaba, Workeabebe Abebe, and Dr. Tamrat Abebe—followed by participant introductions that highlighted the diverse range of stakeholders involved. A brief overview of ZAFI’s objectives and operational approach was then presented. Participants were divided into groups to discuss three key areas:
- Confirmation of the health problems to be addressed
- Feedback on operational procedures
- Clarification of stakeholder roles in implementation
Each group shared its reflections in a plenary session, reinforcing that ZAFI is directly responding to urgent health concerns at both community and health facility levels.
Key outcomes
The ZAFI project challenges conventional approaches to research protocol development by involving communities early in identifying priority health issues. The launch not only celebrated the project’s successful funding by NIHR but also created a shared understanding of its purpose, relevance, and collective responsibilities. Participants in both Butajira and Batu expressed enthusiasm and readiness to contribute to ZAFI’s success, recognising its potential to address long-standing challenges of febrile illness in their communities.
Pictures: Group discussion participants (community members and other stakeholders)
