article · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Snakebite envenoming is a substantial public health concern in Zambia, particularly affecting rural and vulnerable communities. Between 2020 and 2025, national health records documented 98,250 snakebite cases, showing marked geographic variation across different provinces. While Zambia has included snakebites in its Neglected Tropical Diseases Master Plan 2022 to 2026, incorporated reporting into national health systems, and introduced management guidelines, critical barriers persist. Healthcare delivery is hindered by insufficient staff training, scarce and unevenly distributed quality-assured antivenoms, weak surveillance, and limited rural referral mechanisms. Furthermore, low community awareness, limited local research, and an absence of dedicated funding impede effective intervention. Addressing these systemic obstacles requires mandatory clinical training, secure antivenom supply chains, increased local research investment, and dedicated national funding to align with international health targets and lower snakebite-induced mortality and disability.
Snakebite envenoming causes severe mortality, disability, and economic hardship, predominantly in rural populations. Understanding the operational bottlenecks within Zambia's health system provides critical evidence for policymakers, public health authorities, and funders. Resolving these challenges through targeted interventions, reliable antivenom supply, and improved clinical training is essential to achieving global health targets and protecting vulnerable rural communities from preventable harm.
The work highlights procurement and supply-chain opportunities for manufacturers and distributors of quality-assured antivenoms and medical diagnostics. Health-system operators, logistics providers, and training organisations could deploy solutions addressing antivenom distribution, cold-chain transport, and healthcare worker education. Because this study focuses on health-system policy and baseline epidemiology, these market opportunities represent applied, system-level implementation needs requiring public procurement partnerships and dedicated public health financing rather than immediate off-the-shelf commercial products.
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Snakebite envenoming (SBE) remains a neglected public health challenge in Zambia, particularly among rural and other vulnerable populations.Although the country has made important progress in recognising and responding to SBE, significant gaps continue to hinder effective prevention, timely treatment, surveillance, and long-term control. This paper examines the current policy and health-system response to SBE in Zambia, with particular attention to national surveillance, existing policy frameworks, recently developed treatment guidelines, and persistent implementation challenges. National health information data indicate that 98,250 snakebite cases were reported between 2020 and 2025, withsubstantial geographic variation across provinces. Zambia has taken important steps through the inclusion of SBE within the Neglected Tropical Diseases Master Plan 2022–2026, integration of snakebite reporting into the national health information system, and development and rollout of national guidelines for the prevention and management of snakebite. However, implementation remains constrained by inadequate healthcare worker training, limited availability and inequitable distribution of quality-assured antivenom, weak surveillance and reporting systems, inadequate rural referral capacity, limited community awareness, insufficient locally generated research, and the absence of dedicated and sustainable financing for SBE programmes. To address these challenges, the paper proposes stronger integration of SBE into national health policies and strategic plans, improved surveillance and data systems, mandatory training of healthcare workers, equitable antivenom procurement and distribution, expanded community engagement and collaboration with traditional healers, dedicated budgetary allocations, and increased investment in locally led research. Elevating SBE to anational public health priority through coordinated, multisectoral and sustainable action is essential to reducing snakebite-related mortality, disability, and socioeconomic consequences in Zambia and advancing progress towards the World Health Organization's 2030 targets
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DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.22250933
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