Over 400,000 Zambian women on ARVs

First lady Esther Lungu says Zambia has seen an increase of women on Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) treatment from 26 in 2002 to over 400,000 in 2016.

Mrs Lungu said this follows government’s investment in the health sector which she says has seen a reduction of the HIV prevalence rate from 19 percent in 2003 to 11.6 to date.

Highlighting the successes made in Zambia in relation to the fight against HIV and AIDS during the Organization for African First Ladies 15th ordinary session, Mrs Lungu said 700 adults and 51 children were put on Antiretroviral Therapy in 2016.

The first lady said more than three million people in Zambia have accessed HIV testing.

And focusing on the theme, ‘Building on fifteen years of engagement to harness the demographic dividends of Africa through promoting the needs of adolescents and their access to youth friendly services,’ Mrs Lungu said that comprehensive sexuality education was making a direct impact on ensuring that adolescents were not infected with Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) especially HIV and AIDS.

Mrs Lungu noted that Zambia was undertaking steps towards providing youth friendly health services to communities through an integrated approach involving government line ministries and other stakeholders such as donors and civil Society Organizations (CSO).

“Community housing trained peer educators where adolescents can go without stigma of being seen at a health facility have become a successful model. We have also invested in disseminating national guidelines that integrated HIV and AIDS, Voluntary Counseling and Testing and Sexual Reproductive health. We have also invested in training both in and out-of-school youths, peer education and family planning product distributors. This initiative has not only provided a service but also created employment for the youth.” she said.

The first lady also cited the Determined Resilient Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored and Safe Women (DREAMS) as one of the initiatives that helped girls to develop into independent young women who were able to make informed decisions.

“Over the last nine years. The office of the first lady developed a deliberate mentorship programme where pupils from remote rural schools are invited to State House and freely interact with the first lady and talk about their fears, and ask different questions on HIV and AIDS, sexual reproductive health and enhancement of talent. I also make a must to visit schools where I speak to pupils, teachers and parents against social vices that will disadvantage young people as I travel far and wide around Zambia” she said.

On the issue of Gender Based Violence, Mrs Lungu said Zambia was implementing the African Union’s Campaing on ending child marriages stating that a lot of successes have been made in the area.

“My office has brought spouses of traditional leaders who have become champions against child marriages in their chiefdoms.” She said.

And Mrs Lungu said Zambia has a robust cervical cancer prevention and control programme and that the Ministry of Health has a strategic plan focusing on cancers and non-communicable diseases for the treatment and further prevention of infection of cervical cancer.
Mrs Lungu stated that the Zambia established a state of the art cancer disease hospital whose model would be replicated in all the remaining nine provincial centers in the country.

‘ Primary prevention through the Human Papiloma Virus (HPV) was piloted and is currently in its second phase of scale up, and over 50,000 girls aged between nine and 15 received the vaccine. Zambia has 41 screening and treatment centers and that more were set to be opened this year.” she said.

Mrs Lungu also noted that training of government health workers in cervical cancer screening and treatment was ongoing and over 500 health workers have been trained.

The first lady said maternal and child health was being provided free of charge in government health facilities across the country.

Mrs Lungu also noted that OAFLA had overlooked persons with disabilities in its programming and hoped that the organization would in the next strategic plan, put deliberate efforts towards reaching out to persons with disabilities.

Earlier, OAFLA chairperson Gertrude Mutharika commended all member countries for making efforts in reducing HIV and AIDS prevalence in their countries saying all members’ countries had recorded positive strides in the fight against the scourge.

And UNAIDS executive director Michel Sidibe observed that OAFLA had become an important channel for continental advocacy on issues aimed at uplifting the girl child to fully realize her potential.

Mr Sidibe stated that the first ladies had contributed to making Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT) became a reality because they helped advocate for the programme to be implemented.

He noted that this has led to an increase in the number of children who were born negative despite being born from positive mothers.