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POPULATION: 11,862,740
ACTIVE IN: Central, Copperbelt, Eastern, Luapula, Lusaka, North-Western, Northern, Southern and Western
PROGRAMS: HIV/AIDS, Orphans & Vulnerable Children
A CAUSE FOR CONCERN
According to UNAIDS, 1.1 million Zambians are living with HIV, out of a total population of only 11 million people. The vast majority of those infected are people in the prime of life, whose income and roles as parents are critical to the survival of families and society. The loss of so many parents has left an estimated 700,000 to 1 million children orphaned. Even when extended family members will take them in, many of these children, particularly those from poor households, are forced to turn to the streets to support themselves and their families.
2,100 ORPHANS AND VULNERABLE CHILDREN AND THEIR PARENTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ZAMBIAN DEFENCE FORCE RECEIVED CARE AND SUPPORT SERVICES, SUCH AS EARLY EDUCATION, IN 2008. | OVERVIEW
Project Concern International (PCI) has been helping Zambia confront its HIV/AIDS crisis since 1996, working with the most vulnerable and ‘hard to reach’ groups, including street children and the military. Today, PCI and partners are working to create the infrastructure Zambia needs to sustain a long-term response to HIV/AIDS. PCI hopes to make a lasting impact by helping people become healthy, more capable of taking care of themselves, and most importantly, live with new hope for the future.
HIV/AIDS
PCI launched a groundbreaking program with the Zambian Defence Force in 2003, building its capacity to conduct, manage, and evaluate HIV prevention activities among its 30,000 uniformed personnel and their families. An innovative campaign, which includes theater, music, workshops, and educational materials, is promoting behavior change and creating awareness about HIV prevention with this extremely high-risk group. The program continues to expand beyond prevention activities to include counseling and testing, care, support, and treatment for those living with HIV/AIDS. Endorsement and participation from engaged military leaders and the Zambian government has enabled PCI to achieve significant results.
ORPHANS AND VULNERABLE CHILDREN
In Zambia, the devastating effect of the AIDS pandemic has resulted in a generation of orphans, many of whom must raise younger siblings or fend for survival on the streets. In the capital city of Lusaka alone, there are an estimated 100,000 children living and/or working on the streets. Established in 2000 by PCI and Fountain of Hope, Africa KidSAFE (Shelter, Advocacy, Food, and Education) is Zambia’s leading force addressing the street children crisis and providing orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) with shelter, food, medical care, counseling, education, and skills training. In addition, when possible, PCI and its partners seek to reunite and reintegrate children with their families.
Through the BELONG Project (Better Education and Life Opportunities for Vulnerable Children through Networking and Organizational Growth), PCI is coordinating and scaling up comprehensive services for orphans and vulnerable children. In Zambia, BELONG is building the capacity of local grassroots organizations to provide services for orphans and vulnerable children, and ensuring that these services continue to reach the most vulnerable children and their caregivers. The project mobilizes community resources and initiatives, including formal and informal schools, women’s groups, networks of community-based organizations, and cultural and religious bodies to provide an essential package of services.
Most OVC programs in Zambia only target school-age children, while those too young to attend school (0-6 years of age) are often unable to access educational and other support services. To address this gap in services, PCI is currently implementing two projects focusing on early childhood development in Zambia. The first is the OVC Under-5 Project, which supports U.S. Government partners such as CARE International, Catholic Relief Services, World Vision/RAPIDS, Family Health International, and others to adapt stimulation techniques based on the draft national early childhood education curriculum developed by UNICEF and the Zambian Ministry of Education.
The second project, the BELONG Military OVC Project, provides care and support to AIDS-affected OVC associated with the Zambian Defence Force and helps to build the capacity of the ZDF to care and support the growing number of OVC within the Zambian military due to the high HIV prevalence and AIDS-related illness and deaths in the armed services. The project has already established early education center centers in and around 10 military sites and is currently in the process of establishing ten more.
Download PCI/Zambia Country Fact Sheet (PDF)
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