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UNDP Zambia has been involved in the response to HIV&AIDS since the mid 1980s, when HIV was first identified in the country. We were among the first to recognize that the epidemic cannot be perceived simply as a health sector’s concern.
In early 2007, all United Nations Agencies in Zambia established a Joint UN Team on AIDS. Zambia was the first country in the world to have a Joint UN team on AIDS. The UN Programme on AIDS supports the Fifth National Development Plan (FNDP) and the Zambia AIDS Strategic Framework (ZASF, 2006-2010) and aims to achieve four outcomes:
- An effective, efficient National AIDS Council that is able to achieve its mandate.
- Access to an effective and comprehensive package of HIV prevention services, based on approaches that address the underlying drivers of the epidemic, is increased.
- Access to treatment, support and care is increased.
- The institutional capacity to mitigate the socio-economic impact for people infected and affected by HIV and AIDS is strengthened.
Within the framework of the Joint UN Programme of Support on HIV&AIDS (2007-2010), UNDP is responding to the multi-sectoral challenges induced by the epidemic and contributing to the comprehensive United Nations system action, wherein UNDP is designated as the lead for addressing dimensions of the HIV&AIDS relating to development, governance, mainstreaming, legislation, human rights and gender. In essence, the four priority areas of support are: - Integrating HIV&AIDS concerns into national development processes;
- Strengthening the governance component of AIDS response;
- Promoting human rights and gender equality; and
- Accelerating implementation of local and global initiatives to tackle HIV&AIDS.
Download the Joint UN programme of support on AIDS programme document UNDP Zambia has been involved in the response to HIV&AIDS since the mid 1980s, when HIV was first identified in the country. We were among the first to recognize that the epidemic cannot be perceived simply as a health sector’s concern.
In early 2007, all United Nations Agencies in Zambia established a Joint UN Team on AIDS. Zambia was the first country in the world to have a Joint UN team on AIDS. The UN Programme on AIDS supports the Fifth National Development Plan (FNDP) and the Zambia AIDS Strategic Framework (ZASF, 2006-2010) and aims to achieve four outcomes:
- An effective, efficient National AIDS Council that is able to achieve its mandate.
- Access to an effective and comprehensive package of HIV prevention services, based on approaches that address the underlying drivers of the epidemic, is increased.
- Access to treatment, support and care is increased.
- The institutional capacity to mitigate the socio-economic impact for people infected and affected by HIV and AIDS is strengthened.
Within the framework of the Joint UN Programme of Support on HIV&AIDS (2007-2010), UNDP is responding to the multi-sectoral challenges induced by the epidemic and contributing to the comprehensive United Nations system action, wherein UNDP is designated as the lead for addressing dimensions of the HIV&AIDS relating to development, governance, mainstreaming, legislation, human rights and gender. In essence, the four priority areas of support are: - Integrating HIV&AIDS concerns into national development processes;
- Strengthening the governance component of AIDS response;
- Promoting human rights and gender equality; and
- Accelerating implementation of local and global initiatives to tackle HIV&AIDS.
Subsequently, UNDP has supported the Government in the development of multi-sectoral responses. Today, Zambia has a national strategy to respond to the epidemic. All our HIV&AIDS assistance falls under this strategy. UNDP’s main role in supporting the implementation of the strategy is capacity development. Our objective is to provide technical assistance in ways that lead to effective responses to the epidemic while simultaneously strengthening local institutions and human resources.
The greatest capacity challenge lies at the sub-national levels: effective HIV&AIDS response requires a grassroots approach. The Community level, districts and the provinces need to take the epidemic into consideration in all their strategies and plans. Therefore, they need to be able to monitor and coordinate the HIV&AIDS responses in their areas.
To assist, UNDP started a programme to recruit Zambian UN Volunteers to support the districts for four years. Since April 2004, each district has had one of these National UNVs attached to it. The role of the volunteers is to support district level planning, coordination, implementation and monitoring & evaluation of the national HIV&AIDS strategy. The UNVs have also been instrumental in providing technical support to communities who have in turn developed bankable community level poverty reduction projects and leveraged resources from World Bank, GFTAM from CHAZ and ZNAN for community response to HIV and AIDS. The projects focus vary from Prevention, Treatment, care& support to impact mitigation.
This pioneering national UNVs’ initiative has been highly appreciated within and outside Zambia. As such the National AIDS Council is making headway to have this component institutionalized within its structure, through leveraged resources from the Global Fund and the Joint Financing Arrangement (JFA) with key CPs.
HIV/AIDS initiatives in Zambia:
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HIV/AIDS
Zambia
