Dr. Sombo Fwoloshi serves as an Infectious Diseases physician within the Department of Internal Medicine at UTH in Lusaka, Zambia. In October 2018, Zambia initiated the HIV/TB ECHOtm and the clinical mentorship program. As the first chief clinical mentor and ECHO technical lead, Dr. Fwoloshi played a pivotal role in realizing the vision of healthcare capacity building through virtual platforms. By March 2024, Zambia boasts more than 370 spokes. With the emergence of COVID-19, Zambia assumed the role of the hub and coordinating country for the Southern Africa Regional ECHO (SARE), comprising Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Botswana, Eswatini, and Lesotho. Collaborating under the Ministry of Health, alongside a team from UTH, the provinces, and with support from CDC, Dr. Fwoloshi led the establishment of 13 post-acute COVID-19 clinics across Zambia. This initiative was followed by the development of guidelines and SOPs for integrating bidirectional screening of TB/COVID-19 into these services and across the COVID-19 clinical care cascade. Presently, the PAC-19 clinics are advancing care by incorporating telemedicine for long COVID management, expanding beyond ECHOTM and telephonic reviews.
