Livingstone District is now the latest beneficiary of the health interventions aimed at improving heath outcomes of Zambians by preventing new infections among priority and key populations most at risk of acquiring HIV/AIDS.

With support from PEPFAR through USAID, CIDRZ shall work with other implementing partners including PACT and YWCA to provide;

• Social Asset building
• Parenting program,
• Family Planning, Post G.B.V care (referral),
• Economic Strengthening programs,
• HIV Testing and Prevention,
• PrEP & Refferal for ART,
• Condom Distribution,
• Mental Health and Educational Support.

The CHECK-I project is a five-year USAID-funded project that CIDRZ is implementing in nine districts across the Copperbelt, Lusaka, Southern, and North-Western provinces. Ndola, Kitwe, Mufulira, Chingola, Lusaka, Livingstone, Luanshya, Chililambombwe, and Solwezi are among the districts where the project is being undertaken.

The program’s purpose is to enhance Zambians’ health by preventing new HIV infections in priority and critical populations, such as teenage girls and young women, adolescent boys and young men, individuals living with HIV, mobile populations, discordant couples, and key populations.

Mrs Rosemary Masaku, Provincial AIDS Coordination Advisor, Southern Province, said the Ministry of Health is grateful to the US Government for their continuous support in the battle against HIV in Zambia in her official launch speech.

She reaffirmed the government’s commitment to collaborate with the US government and other stakeholders through relevant government ministries in order to address and improve all Zambians’ health.

Mrs. Rosemary Masaku complimented CIDRZ on its 20-years of leadership in providing public health services in partnership with GRZ, and promised them of the government’s support and collaboration as they implement this new program.

Meanwhile, Ms Arlene Phiri, USAID Zambia’s HIV Prevention Advisor, expressed gratitude to the Zambian government for continuing to assist USAID Zambia and its partners. She stated that helping the people of Zambia would be difficult without it, as USAID exists to assist the government, and close partnership is essential.

She stated that the large number of stakeholders present at the launch demonstrated that the project had been well-received in the province, and that partners were ready to work together during its implementation.

“As you are aware, the USAID Z-CHPP served only priority people, while the USAID Open Doors Project served critical populations. The Controlling HIV Epidemic for Key and Underserved Populations Project (CHEKUP I Project) launched by CIDRZ in Livingstone District combines the work of these two projects because the populations they serve are all in the same community, so we thought it would be easier to have one partner instead of two,” said Ms Phiri.

Ms Phiri promised the people of Livingstone District that there would be no gaps in service delivery for important and priority populations in all the areas where Z- CHPP’s was operating from.

She urged CIDRZ and their partners to continue working closely with the Government to ensure that the collaboration seen during the implementation of the Z-CHPP, and Open Doors Project continues as this is the only way to ensure the project’s success.

Dr. Maurice Musheke, CIDRZ Chief of Party of the USAID-SDHP Program, explained to key stakeholders during the launch that the program had four main goals: identifying and reaching individuals at high risk of HIV infection in communities with high-impact HIV prevention services; using targeted testing strategies to find and link newly identified beneficiaries to HIV treatment and support services; building capacity of communities and leverage community structures to implement evidence-based, high impact strategies; and building the capacity of local implementing partners to provide targeted, evidence-based HIV prevention services in line with USAID strategies.

He also urged diverse stakeholders to see each other as collaborators rather than competitors, urging them to coordinate and synergize their efforts to improve HIV prevention.

Speaking at the launch held at the Protea Hotel in Livingstone, Ministry of Health Livingstone District Health Director Dr Faceroy Nkole welcomed the project in Livingstone District said Zambia can only effectively control the HIV epidemic and achieve the 95:95:95 UNAIDs targets, when sub-population groups like the ones being targeted by this program are reached with HIV prevention services and referred to high impact HIV services.