I RECENTLY received the following Press statement from the American Embassy in Lusaka which I thought we could share:
On July 21, US Embassy Chargé d’Affaires David Young attended a dissemination and award meeting organised by Project Concern International through its “Church Partnerships for Positive Change” (CPPC) project.
The event took place in Mazabuka in Southern Province. Since late 2010, PCI has worked with the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ) and the Zambia Episcopal Conference (ZEC) in eight Districts and 26 congregations in Southern and Western provinces.
CPPC engages clergy and congregations in analysing and addressing their HIV epidemic with the goal of achieving behavioural change and increased uptake of HIV services within their communities.
The project is supported by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), through funding provided by the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The programme aims to increase HIV prevention activities with church congregations and overcome barriers to HIV prevention by use of agreements or “compacts” to improve the access and uptake of HIV services.
It is aimed at engaging directly with target congregations and entering into a process whereby leaders and individuals alike are all involved in increasing activities that reduce the risk of HIV infection.
During the event, PCI recognised high-performing church communities and volunteers in Mazabuka and Monze Districts and incentive awards were distributed to churches that reached their HIV prevention, care and treatment service uptake milestones.
A dissemination of the results of an external evaluation were shared that consisted of findings from interviews, group discussions and the sharing of personal stories from the church community compact experience. A similar meeting was scheduled to be held in Mongu later.
These community initiatives and partnerships, demonstrate successful collaboration between the US government and various stakeholders who leverage combined resources and assets to close critical gaps in HIV services to reach an HIV-free generation.
Food for thought
HIV can continue to grow in patients who are thought to be responding well to treatment, according to research by the University of Liverpool.
During treatment for HIV the virus hides in blood cells that are responsible for the patient’s immune response. The virus does this by inserting its own genetic information into the DNA of the blood cells, called CD4 Tlymphocytes.
The study by the University’s Institute of Infection and Global Health measured the levels of integrated HIV in the CD4 cells of patients undergoing uninterrupted treatment for up to 14 years, and compared patients receiving treatment for different lengths of time.
The researchers discovered that the amount of HIV found to be integrated in the CD4 cells was undiminished from year 1 to year 14.
The research demonstrates that whenever a CD4 cell multiplies to produce more cells, it copies itself and also copies the HIV genes. This process – a sort of silent HIV replication – means the virus does not need to copy itself, produce new virus particles, and infect new CD4 cells – but is automatically incorporated at the birth of the cell.
Anti-retroviral therapy is given to HIV patients to stop the production of new virus which prevents the infection and death of CD4 T-lymphocytes and the progression of the disease to full-blown AIDS.
Advances in anti-retroviral therapy over the last 30 years mean that most patients can have their virus suppressed to almost undetectable levels and live a long and healthy life. It had been thought that after many years of successful treatment, the body would naturally purge itself of the virus.
Professor Anna Maria Geretti, who led the study, said: “This research shows that sadly, the HIV virus has found yet another way to escape our treatments.
“We always knew HIV is difficult to suppress completely and that it hides inside CD4 cells, but we always hoped that as the body gradually renews its CD4 cells that the hidden HIV would die out. We were surprised to find that the levels of HIV integrated in the CD4 cells didn’t reduce over the 14-year period.
“The good news is that we did not see any worsening over time, but the bad news is that these findings really cast doubt over whether HIV can be ‘cured’ by increasing immune cell responses against it – a strategy that now looks like it will eventually fail.”
This information is provided by the University of Liverpool.

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