Experience in this Country
- Zambia HIV/AIDS Prevention, Care, and Treatment Partnership 2004–2010
- Rational Pharmaceutical Management Plus Program 2000–2008
Zambia HIV/AIDS Prevention, Care, and Treatment Partnership
2004–2010Given its current HIV prevalence of 17 percent among adults, Zambia struggles with many related hardships, such as the declining rate of population growth, a growing number of AIDS orphans, and the weakening of the country’s population of working age. The government of Zambia has recognized the urgency and magnitude of this problem, and responded to the epidemic with a multifaceted line of attack, by developing and carrying out strategies to counsel and test adults, prioritizing the availability of antiretroviral therapy, and taking steps to ward off mother-to-child transmission, to name but a few.
The Zambia HIV/AIDS Prevention, Care, and Treatment Partnership aims to strengthen existing interventions by providing all Zambian families access to low-cost, decentralized, integrated and quality HIV and AIDS health services. Working in partnership with the Central Board of Health, the Ministry of Health, Provincial Health Offices and District Health Management Teams, the project reaches stakeholders in five provinces. Zambia PCT delivers technical assistance in the set-up and maintenance of high-quality laboratory services, as well as leadership and management training for national district level health staff. The Zambia PCT project is also unique in that it promotes the integration of management and quality assurance of pharmaceuticals with laboratory services.
A number of partners play roles in the overall success of the project. Family Health International (FHI) is the prime contractor for this project, with participation from MSH, Kara Counseling and the International Youth Foundation (IYF). Moreover, the project is committed to leveraging sufficient responses to the AIDS outbreak by securing the participation of nontraditional partners.
MSH supports the project's aim of an integrated response by assuring the effectiveness of drug and commodity supply systems for ARVs and STIs and by contributing technical assistance and quality assurance in the set-up and maintenance of high-quality laboratory services, along with leadership and management training for Zambian health workers in these areas. MSH's contract totals $5.1 million, and is represented by our long-term staff of fourteen based in Lusaka. The team is led by Gail Bryan, of the Center for Health Services (CHS).
Rational Pharmaceutical Management Plus Program
2000–2008MSH provided technical guidance and assists in strategy development and program implementation both in improving the availability of safe, effective health commodities of assured quality and cost—pharmaceuticals, laboratory diagnostics, vaccines, supplies, and basic medical equipment—and in promoting the appropriate use of these commodities in the public and private sectors at the community level, with special focus on managing pharmaceuticals essential for maternal, newborn, and child health.
