•Displayed billboard about the District Strategic HIV and AIDS Plan

By MIRIAM ZIMBA –

LIKE many other countries globally, Zambia is one of the countries grappling with the effects of HIV and AIDS.
According the 2013/2014 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), the country’s HIV and AIDS prevalence currently stands at about 13 per cent.
However, in line with global efforts in achieving zero new HIV infections, zero HIV related deaths, and zero stigma and discrimination.
The 2013Global AIDS Report indicates that the country is showing significant gains in national response had ranked Zambia as one of the top six to record rapid reduction in new HIV infections, especially in the Prevention of Mother to Child (PMTC) related initiatives.
These gains recorded are an indication that the nation is poised to win the fight against HIV and AIDS within this generation.
However, in order for this to be achieved, the response towards HIV interventions must be broadened in order to ensure that high risk populations are included in the multi-sectoral response.
To this effect, the National AIDS Council (NAC) in collaboration with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has identified gaps.
This of course is in the wake of the realisation on the need to consolidate and sustain the many gains recorded in the fight against HIV prevention, treatment, care and support.
According to IOM, currently, there is an estimated 232 million international migrants and about 740 internal migrants.
This in essence translates to about one in every seven people globally being a migrant, and billions more are impacted by the fact that these migrants are on the move.
IOM Chief of Mission Abibatou Wane explains that going by these figures, worldwide mobility is expected to increase to nearly double the figure in the near future.
“We can no longer think about our economy, society or culture without thinking about human mobility,” she explains.
Ms Wane explains that labour migration and mobility is connected to many people’s economic survival and that because of this, the world continues to record short and long term temporary and permanent mobility.
Many households today have a bread winner who may be working in another town while the family remains in one location.
More commonly however, today’s jobs demand that people move from place to place in the course of their work.
Because of the increasing mobile and migrant populations, to which Zambia has not been spared, there is need to answer questions such as who are these mobile and migrant populations and how can the country ensure that they are not left out in the national response to HIV and AIDS?
More importantly, how do these people access information on HIV and related issues, especially those in hard to reach communities?
In trying to answer these questions, the IOM and NAC have developed what is known as the Border District Strategic HIV and AIDS Investment Plans.
This plan which encompasses three border districts-Chililabombwe, Kazungula and Sesheke was recently launched in Sesheke.
Notable among the migrant and mobile populations are those families whose bread winners are working in a different town or country.
Truckers and cross-border traders are also classified as mobile populations, who spend days, weeks or even months away from their homes as well as their regular sexual partners.
According to Ms Wane, key populations represent a critical component of our HIV response, and was pleased to note that the newly launched plan will be able to address the needs of mobile populations amongst other key populations driving HIV infections such as women, youths, sex workers.
He reiterated her organisation’s continued support towards the Zambia’s national response to HIV and AIDS through its continued support to NAC as well as district authorities.
” My organisation is committed to working with the Zambian government and other stakeholders in investing in the HIV response and ending the epidemic now.”
“For that we need clear goals, strategies that provide us with a roadmap of action, she added.
National AIDS Council director general Jabin Mulwanda explained during the launch that the strategic investment plans these three border towns are well in line with the National Strategic Framework which is a blueprint as regards how to address the HIV and AIDS response in Zambia.
Dr Mulwanda explained that the selection of these inventions and strategies outlined in the investment plans for the districts, is premised on the need to focus on high impact interventions with a special attention paid to key populations
“In this case key populations refer to groups that are either disproportionately affected by the epidemic or are at higher risk, because of their peculiar circumstances in order to access to prevention, care and support services,” he said.
The National Strategic Framework identifies among other populations groups mobile and migrant populations as one key group among others.
In addition to identifying the high impact interventions, it is important to determine the geographic locations where they are.
This is the reason we are here launching these plans for the border districts, largely because of the peculiar circumstances of the populations in these areas.
This can be achieved focusing on doing the right things in the right places all the time.
“Over the years, we have learnt what works, but the challenge still remains how do we make it work? How do we make what works to achieve zero new HIV infections, zero deaths, and zero stigma and discrimination?” he said.
Dr Mulwanda is of the view that the launch of the strategic plan for these three districts is a collective effort to implement interventions that are workable.
This is because the country has already identified the key populations and what remains is the interventions aimed at achieving the goals set out in the national response to HIV and AIDS.
One key enabler in the HIV response is the decentralisation of the response and this means putting the responsibility of managing the response in the hands of those who know their circumstances better-the local authorities.
Dr Mulwanda congratulated the three local authorities represented at the event, saying that it is the hope of NAC that other district will emulate what you have done.
He also expressed hope that the plans will be implemented to positively impact the health of the people in the communities represented.
He assured local authorities of the continued support of NAC throughout the implementation of the plans.
Dr Mulwanda commended IOM for their support to NAC towards the common goal of attaining the national HIV and AIDS response.
“One of the most important ingredients in ensuring effective and focused muluti-sectoral response to HIV is leadership commitment. This is testimony of unwavering commitment to the response to HIV and AIDS,” he said.
Government has also commended the IOM and NAC in the development of these district plans in its quest to ensure the country reaches its goals of zero HIV infections.
In a speech read for him by Western province permanent secretary Mwangala Liomba, western province minister Poniso Njeulu said border towns are centre of attraction for both local and migrant populations who ultimately engage in sexual relations which pre-dispose them to HIV.
“The drivers of HIV in the border towns have been identified as multiple and concurrent partnerships, alcohol and drug abuse, low and inconsistent use of condoms, just to mention a few,” he said.
Based on evidence and programme experience, targeting mobile populations particularly long distance truck drivers, cross-border traders and commercial sex workers and other clients with HIV interventions can remarkably help to reduce new HIV infections by close to 50 per cent.
He assured the public that government remains committed to providing health and other social services to everyone regardless of their social status.
“I urge all concerned in the three participating districts to strictly use these plans as a guide in responding to the identified challenges for the attainment of the set objectives of reversing and ultimately eliminating the risks of HIV in these areas,” he said.
The National HIV and AIDS Strategic framework (NASF) 2014-2016 constitutes a multi-sectoral, multi-layer and decentralised response to HIV and AIDS in Zambia.
The is designed to provide adequate space and opportunities for communities, civil society , private sector, development partners and government institutions to actively participate in the implementation of evidence based HIV and AIDS programmes.
The strategic framework identified high impact interventions with the key targets in the population.
Three border districts were identified as targets for the implementation of the high impact interventions, and these districts were engaged to begin the process of developing strategic plans that would be used as key documents to guide the districts in the response.
As the country envisages the impact of these plans in the districts and the HIV and AIDS response in the country, it is hoped that they will yield a positive impact on the lives of these people in the three districts.