With an HIV prevalence rate of 12 percent, Zambia receives significant support from USAID under the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). These PEPFAR investments focus on scaling up integrated HIV prevention, care, and treatment programs, with the goal of reaching epidemic control by 2020.

The EQUIP project supports the delivery of HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment services in the three northernmost provinces of Zambia. Through direct service delivery and technical assistance, EQUIP partners with Zambia’s Ministry of Health to expand treatment coverage, retain those on treatment in care, and provide biomedical prevention services.

As one of USAID/Zambia’s three HIV treatment programs, EQUIP works across 26 districts and in over 180 health facilities to achieve the 95/95/95 objectives, which are:

• Ensuring that 95 percent of HIV positive individuals know their HIV status;

• Initiating 95 percent of those who tested positive on Antiretroviral Therapy (ART); and

• Ensuring that 95 percent of those on ART are virally suppressed.

Other objectives include:

• Reaching 90 percent of eligible HIV positive adults and children with Nutrition, Assessment, Counseling, and Support (or NACS);

• Ensuring biomedical prevention through: 

  • Voluntary medical male circumcision and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to priority populations to avert new infections; and

  • Institutionalize cervical cancer screening and treatment services for HIV infected women;

• Bolstering Zambia’s health system to support the objectives of 95/95/95; and

• Strengthening monitoring and evaluation capacity at the facility, district and provincial levels for improved program management. 

JOURNEY TO SELF-RELIANCE

USAID believes every person, every community, and every country wants to be empowered to lead their own future. We support self-reliance by walking alongside our friends on their development journey, as evolving but enduring partners.  As partners on this journey, we are empowering host country governments and our partners to achieve locally-sustained results, helping countries mobilize public and private revenues, strengthening local capacities, and accelerating enterprise-driven development.  This approach fosters stable, resilient, and prosperous countries that are more self-reliant, and prioritizes enduring partnerships.