The National Comprehensive Condom Strategy emphasizes the simultaneous push for demand and supply-side strategies, to increase motivation, availability of, and ability to use condoms and lubricants, by addressing social and behavioural barriers. The strategy further stresses the need to strengthen the integration of a firm condom and lubricant focused behaviour change and skills-building component in HIV interventions, such as voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC), anti-retroviral therapy (ART), and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). The strategy also emphasizes opportunities to strengthen condom programming and provider-initiated condom and lubricant promotion within the broader STI, family planning and sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services.
Strategic Documents
The Zambia Fast Track Roadmap presents a detailed epidemiological situation analysis of the HIV epidemic and the responses todate, highlights opportunities and challenges for actualization of the Fast Track, highlights critical considerations for the Fast Track such as leadership, sustainable financing and innovative approaches to monitoring and evaluation. In addition, the Roadmap presents strategies for enhancing timely achievement of the Fast Track targets, treatment cascades at national and subnational levels, annualised Fast Track targets and resource needs estimates.
It is worth pointing out that despite this being the first issue; the Roadmap provides concrete guidance on the fast Track. However, as new programmatic data are being generated and analysed, there will be need to review and revise the Roadmap to make it more of a living document. Suffice to say that Zambia will achieve the Fast Track Targets before 2020 on the overall. However, this raises issues of equity as we strive to make sure that no one who is supposed to be a beneficiary of the Fast Track Initiative is left behind.
The Seventh National Development Plan, 2017-2021 (7NDP) outlines the Government’s desired developmental outcomes as well as the accompanying strategies and programmes. The Plan responds to the Smart Zambia transformation agenda 2064 and embeds in it the economic stabilisation and growth necessary for the actualisation of a Smart Zambia. It is aimed at attaining the long term objectives as outlined in the Vision 2030 of becoming a “prosperous middle-income country by 2030”.
The Seventh National Development Plan, 2017-2021 (7NDP) outlines the Government’s desired developmental outcomes as well as the accompanying strategies and programmes. The Plan responds to the Smart Zambia transformation agenda 2064 and embeds in it the economic stabilisation and growth necessary for the actualisation of a Smart Zambia. It is aimed at attaining the long term objectives as outlined in the Vision 2030 of becoming a “prosperous middle-income country by 2030”.
The National AIDS Strategic Framework (NASF) 2017 - 2021 is designed to provide adequate space and opportunities for communities, civil society, private sector, development partners (bilateral and multi-lateral agencies) and Government institutions to actively participate in the implementation of evidence-based HIV and AIDS programmes, depending on their mandates and comparative advantages.
This NASF was developed through a highly participatory and consultative process and reflects the aspirations of the people of Zambia in their efforts to fight the HIV and AIDS epidemic. The framework will support decentralised implementation with meaningful involvement of communities, PLHIV, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and marginalised populations so as not to leave anyone behind in the response.
This HIV Testing and Counselling Implementation Plan (2014-16) is the contribution to the overall National HIV&AIDS Strategic Plan 2014-2016 (NASF) and National Health Strategic Plan 2011-2015 (NHSP). The plan is aimed at addressing the need for an accelerated scale up of HIV Testing and Counseling (HTC) as part of the Ministry of Community Development Mother and Child Health’s (MCDMCH) comprehensive set of HIV prevention programs, and the Government of the Republic of Zambia’s broader response to the country’s HIV and AIDS epidemic.
The Revised National HIV and AIDS Strategic Framework (R-NASF) 2014 - 2016 constitutes a multi-sectoral, multi-layer and decentralised response to HIV and AIDS in Zambia. The Framework is designed to provide adequate space and opportunities for Communities, Civil Society, Private Sector, Development Partners (Bilateral and Multi-lateral Agencies) and Government Institutions to actively participate in the implementation of evidence based HIV and AIDS programmes based on their mandates and comparative advantages.
The R-NASF has been developed through a highly participatory and consultative process and reflects the aspirations of the people of Zambia in their efforts to fight the HIV and AIDS epidemic. The Framework will support decentralised implementation with meaningful involvement of communities, People Living with HIV (PLHIV) and Civil Society Organisations.
This National HIV/AIDS Monitoring and Evaluation Plan (MEP) is a companion to the new National HIV/AIDS Strategic Framework (NASF) for the period 2011–2015. This MEP not only provides for the monitoring and evaluation of the NASF 2011–2015, but also contains the operational plan of how it will be realized. The first case of HIV was diagnosed in 1984 in Zambia. In 1986, the Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ) established the National AIDS Prevention and Control Programme (NAPCP) with assistance from the World Health Organisation (WHO) to ensure a coordinated response. Several plans were formulated and implemented, including the emergency short-term plan of 1987, the two Medium Term Plans (MTP1 and MTP2) of 1988–1992 and 1994–1998, respectively.
The NACAS provides a broad framework within which communication and advocacy should serve asstrategic inputs into the implementation of the NASF. Its implementation is also harmonious with the NASF,which runs for the period 2011–2015.Furthermore, the Strategy has identified key behavioural communication issues and gaps to be addressed to support the achievement of positive results across the four response pillars. It thus proposes innovative, evidence-based and participatory approaches in the planning and implementation of communication and advocacy interventions.
The existing HIV prevention programme, based on the abstinence, being faithful to one sexual partner, and consistent and correct use of condoms (ABC) model, has resulted in a number of positive developments such as partner reduction, increase of age at first sexual debut and an increase in the number of people visiting voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) services.
The prevalence of HIV in adults reduced from 16.9 percent in 2002 to 14.3 percent in 2007. Females aged 15- 49 are more likely to be HIV positive (16.1 percent) than males (12.3 percent) in the same age group and onaverage become infected earlier. Urban areas have higher prevalence (20 percent) than rural areas (101 percent) . An estimated 1.6% of the adult population becomes newly infected each year, and an estimated 10 percent of HIV transmission occurs during pregnancy, birth or breastfeeding. However, with effective treatment and follow-up, pediatric HIV could be virtually eliminated.
