Speeches Shim
The Open Doors project is focused on increasing access to, and use of, comprehensive HIV prevention, care and treatment services for key populations in Zambia. Globally, key populations are defined as a group who, due to specific higher-risk behaviors, are at increased risk of HIV infection. This includes female sex workers, men who have sex with men, injection-drug users, and transgender individuals. As a direct result of their lifestyle, key populations are frequently stigmatized and criminalized, which limits their access to HIV and other health services. Across Open Doors project sites, it is estimated that there are approximately 57,268 members of these key populations alone.
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 USAID Zambia Community HIV Prevention (Z-CHPP) project is designed to prevent new HIV infections through community-based behavioral interventions, improved condom accessibility and use, and promotion of high-impact services. Z-CHPP targets discordant couples, people living with HIV, adolescent girls and young women (AGYW), and other high-risk groups.
The USAID Community Health Radio Program (CHRP) works to improve the health of women and children through radio serial dramas addressing family planning, nutrition, gender-based violence, and HIV. The project writes, produces, and broadcasts two radio episodes on a weekly basis, across five provinces. The ultimate goal of CHRP is to present relatable and riveting storylines that resonate emotionally with Zambian audiences, and inspire long-term behavior change.
In 2018, USAID announced the launch of The Global Accelerator to End TB. This important initiative focuses on leveraging additional resources from countries, private-sector partners, and other local organizations to meet the UN target of treating 40 million infected people by 2022. In Zambia, USAID supports the Global Accelerator through the Eradicate Tuberculosis project (ETB). Working in partnership with the Government of Zambia, the National TB Control Program, the private sector, and other partners, ETB implements a comprehensive package of services aimed at strengthening the availability and quality of TB prevention, diagnostics, and treatment services. USAID Eradicate TB supports the Zambian Government’s goal of reducing TB-related mortality by 50 percent in the targeted provinces by 2022.
In 2019, Zambian President Edgar Lungu declared maternal and prenatal deaths to be a national public health emergency. Since 2015, the Safe Motherhood 360+ program has worked with the Zambian government’s Ministry of Health to support high-impact programs that help reduce maternal and newborn illnesses and deaths.
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. Through direct service delivery and technical assistance, Supporting an AIDS Free Era (SAFE) partners with Zambia’s Ministry of Health to reduce HIV mortality, morbidity and transmission, while improving nutrition outcomes and family planning integration.
In Zambia, where the healthcare system frequently faces resource constraints, it is common to experience shortages of healthcare workers, especially in remote areas. In light of this challenge, community health workers play an important role by filling the gap and increasing access to basic health services for rural communities. Unfortunately, due to resource constraints, the Zambian Government is not always able to place and retain these valuable personnel on payroll. The Community Health Assistant (CHA) Support Activity was designed to provide training and financial support to CHAs, while strengthening the health system for long-term sustainability.
In recent years, the Government of Uzbekistan has demonstrated a significant commitment to developing the pharmaceutical industry and achieving international standards for medicines quality assurance systems. This commitment was reflected in a number of presidential decrees and resolutions, including two from 2019 – the Presidential Decree (UP-5707) on further measures for the accelerated development of the pharmaceutical industry in the Republic of Uzbekistan (2019-2021) and the Resolution of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan (PP-4554) on additional measures for the strengthening of reforms in the pharmaceutical industry of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
The Feed the Future Zambia Policy Strengthening Project tackles rural poverty and hunger through sound research, policy analysis, outreach, and capacity building. The project builds on the prior work of USAID’s Food Security Research Project through the Zambia Indaba Agricultural Policy Research Institute (IAPRI), a Zambia-based think tank dedicated to agricultural policy research and advocacy. The activity enables IAPRI to continue contributing evidence-based recommendations that facilitate the growth of the agricultural sector and contribute to sustainable environmental management.
Effective procurement and distribution of essential medicines and medical supplies is critical for maintaining the health of Zambia’s citizens. As part of the U.S. government’s worldwide Global Health Initiative, USAID’s Global Health Supply Chain Procurement and Supply Management (GHSC-PSM) project works to ensure an uninterrupted supply of health commodities to and within Zambia. Partnering with the Zambian Government, this activity strengthens logistics information systems and the use of data-driven decision-making, while providing reliable procurement services and technical assistance.
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