With an HIV prevalence rate of 11.1 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. Through direct service delivery and technical assistance, Supporting an AIDS Free Era partners with Zambia’s Ministry of Health to reduce HIV mortality, morbidity and transmission, while improving nutrition outcomes and family planning integration.

As USAID’s largest treatment partner, SAFE works across 24 districts and 300 health facilities to:

  • Strengthen the health system to support the objectives of 95/95/95, namely:
    • Ensure 95 percent of HIV positive individuals know their HIV status;
    • Initiate 95 percent of those who tested positive on Antiretroviral Therapy (ART); and,
    • Ensure that 95 percent of those on ART are virally suppressed
  • Reach 90 percent of eligible HIV-positive adults and children with Nutrition, Assessment, Counseling, and Support (NACS)
  • Ensure biomedical prevention through: 
    • Voluntary medical male circumcision and pre-exposure prophylaxis to priority populations, to avert new infections; and,
    • Institutionalize cervical cancer screening and treatment services for HIV-infected women.
  • Increase access to and quality of family-planning services
  • Strengthen monitoring and evaluation capacity at the facility, district and provincial levels for improved program management
  • Life of Project: August 2017 - August 2022
  • Geographic Focus: Central, Copperbelt, and Northwestern Provinces
  • Partner: John Snow International
  • Chief of Party: Dwan Dixon
  • Total USAID and PEPFAR Funding: $142 million
  • USAID Contact: Michelle Kim - mikim@usaid.gov
In addition, SAFE works with select hospitals and facilities to improve the quality and efficiency of laboratory services. The supported labs are key to identifying HIV in infants, testing for drug resistance to Antiretroviral Drugs, and performing viral-load testing.

Expected Results

By October 2021, SAFE aims to contribute to a reduction in AIDS-related morbidity and mortality through the provision of life-saving HIV treatment to over 308,000 individuals. The project will continue to accelerate TB preventive therapy provision to all eligible people living with HIV (PLHIV), which contributes to a synergistic effect with ART and also independently lowers the risk of TB disease among PLHIV. USAID SAFE will also contribute to a reduction in new HIV infections through the provision of voluntary male medical circumcision to 54,000 clients and by enrolling nearly 20,000 individuals on pre-exposure prophylaxis. Additionally, the project will provide cervical cancer screening and treatment of precancerous lesions for over 75,000 women living with HIV.

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Zambia Past Project