By MELBOURNE MUSHITU –

THE National Aids Council (NAC) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Community Based Organisations (CBOs) aimed at scaling up the elimination of mother to child transmission of HIV/AIDS in Zambia.
The MOU has established an official partnership between the Lusaka City Council (LCC) and NAC to strengthen the CBOs operations in tackling issues that have to do with the epidemic.
Lusaka mayor George Nyendwa said there was need to focus on the realization and intervention of how community organisations were working towards the HIV pandemic.
Mr Nyendwa noted that forming partnerships would enable the mobility of resources and contribute to the elimination of mother to child transmission.
“We should do our best to ensure that CSOS have everything they need to provide the best services and work effectively in communities,” Mr Nyendwa said during the signing of the MoU on Thursday.
Under the MoU, three CBOs namely Volunteer Welfare Association of Zambia (VOWAZA), Mulangile Organization and Lusapila Women Supported group in Lusaka would be supported with a grant amounting to K103, 000.
Each of the organization would receive K33, 000.00 and the remaining K4, 000 would be used for administrative purposes.
Mr Nyendwa urged the recipient organisations to use the grants for the intended purposes in order to achieve the objective.
He has commended various stakeholders for the contribution towards the elimination of mother to child transmission of HIV.
Speaking on behalf of the three organisations, Judith Chanda said that the burden of HIV was big on the community and that the grant would help to deal with the challenges the organizations have been facing.
She noted that the grant would contribute to the lives of mothers living with HIV and AIDS and strengthen the ability of the organizations to work effectively.
“She commended NAC, LCC and the United Nations (UN) for spearheading the process of signing the MOU and ensuring that the CSOC have everything they need.