The Government of the Republic of Zambia has placed priority on ensuring that Zambians are healthy and productive as a catalyst to the attainment of socioeconomic development . The Vision 2030 aims to transform Zambia into a prosperous middle-income country as articulated also in the 7th National De...velop-ment Plan (7NDP) and National Health Strategic Plan 2017 – 2021 (NHSP 2017-2020). However, this aspiration is threatened by the double burden of Communicable and Non-Communicable Diseas¬es. Zambia has been recording an increase in morbidity and mortality due to Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) such as cancers, diabetes, chronic respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. According to the 2016 WHO NCD country profiles, 29% of all deaths in Zambia are attributed to NCDs. This is unacceptably high, considering that most of these diseases can be reduced by modifying four main behavioural risk factors for NCDs which are tobacco use, harmful use of alcohol, unhealthy diets and physical inactivity.
more
A corruption event in 2009 led to changes in how donors supported the Zambian health system. Donor funding was withdrawn from the district basket mechanism, originally designed to pool donor and government financing for primary care. The withdrawal of these funds from the pooled financing mechanism ...raised questions from Government and donors regarding the impact on primary care financing during this period of aid volatility.
more
Medicines and Allied Substances [No. 3 of 2013 47 | An Act to continue the existence of the Pharmaceutical Regulatory Authority and re-name it as the Zambia Medicines Regulatory Authority; provide for the functions and powers of the Authority; provide for the registration and regulation of pharmacie...s, health shops and agro-veterinary shops; provide for the registration and regulation of medicines and allied substances; provide for the regulation of the manufacture, importation, exportation, possession, storage, distribution, supply, promotion, advertising, sale and use of medicines and allied substances; provide for the regulation and control of clinical trials; repeal and replace the Pharmaceutical Act, 2004; and provide for matters connected with, or incidental to, the foregoing.
more
Zambia has recognised the Public Health threat of antimicrobial resistance and its impact on morbidity and mortality, as well as the subsequent economic consequences. The country has recorded microorganisms which have developed resistance to antimicrobial drugs. Notable among these are; Multidrug Re...sistant Mycobacterium Tuberculosis (MDR), Human Immunodeficiency virus resistant to antiretroviral drugs, Plasmodium resistance to antimalarial drugs, and fungal species showing indications of resistance to antifungal drugs. Emergence of “Superbugs” such as Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Extended Spectrum beta-lactam (ESBL) producing Klebsiella pneumoniae and Vancomycin Resistant Enterococci (VRE) have also been reported.
more
A policy brief on child marriage in Zambia. Child marriage is a human rights violation, and endangers young people' personal development and well-being; thus reducing opportunities to realize their full potential. Protecting girls from child marriage is a national priority and key towards sustainabl...e development.
more
A policy brief highlighting key factors associated with adolescent pregnancy. Adolescent pregnancy undermines girls’ human rights and reduces opportunities to realize their full potential.
The Government of Republic of Zambia reported the first confirmed cases of COVID-19 on 18th March 2020. As of April 27th, 2020, there were 89 confirmed cases, three deaths and 42 recoveries. Confirmed cases are located in three provinces: Lusaka (83 cases), Copperbelt province (5 cases) and Central ...(1 case). Zambia introduced a series of measures including closure of three international airports, closure of all schools, movement restrictions and closure of non-essential services such as restaurant, bar, gym and public gatherings to curb the transmission rate.
more
This study, and similar studies in Kenya, Mozambique, Swaziland, Uganda, and Zambia is the outcome of close collaborative by a team in Swaziland, with technical and financial support from the UNAIDS Regional Support Team for Eastern and Southern Africa, UNAIDS Geneva, and the World Bank's Global HIV.../AIDS Program (Global AIDS Monitoring and Evaluation Team). The study entailed using existing data and collecting new data to better know the country's HIV epidemic, know the country HIV response and how funding was allocated, so as to improve the HIV response and strengthen prevention based on evidence on what works to prevent new infections.
more
The Government of Republic of Zambia reported the first confirmed cases of COVID-19 on 18th March 2020. As of April 27th, 2020, there were 89 confirmed cases, three deaths and 42 recoveries. Confirmed cases are located in three provinces: Lusaka (83 cases), Copperbelt province (5 cases) and Central ...(1 case). Zambia introduced a series of measures including closure of three international airports, closure of all schools, movement restrictions and closure of non-essential services such as restaurant, bar, gym and public gatherings to curb the transmission rate.
more
Barriers to HIV Services and Treatment for Persons with Disabilities in Zambia
The 80-page report documents the obstacles faced by people with disabilities in both the community and healthcare settings. These include pervasive stigma and discrimination, lack of access to inclusive HIV prevention ed...ucation, obstacles to accessing voluntary testing and HIV treatment, and lack of appropriate support for adherence to antiretroviral treatment. The report also describes the sexual and intimate partner violence women and girls with disabilities face, and the need for the government and international donors to do more to ensure inclusive and accessible HIV services.
more
Globally, over two million women live with obstetric fistula with the majority of the cases
being from Africa. In low-resource settings such as Zambia, obstetric fistula (OF) is a visible indicator of
gaps in maternal health care resulting in failure to provide adequate, accessible and quality m...aternal health
care, including family planning, skilled birth attendance, basic and emergency obstetric and neonatal care,
and affordable treatment of fistula. OF is preventable and treatable, and no woman in Zambia should continue to endure the condition. It is therefore necessary that Zambia intensifies national scale up of OF management centers including
community based interventions, train more surgeons and other health workers to provide quality and
affordable care closer to the women who are silently suffering from obstetric fistula.
more
This report presents the findings from the Community Based Volunteers Skill Audit Survey that was carried out in 11 districts in Zambia as part of the Millennium Development Goal Acceleration Initiative.
The attainment of Zambia’s goal of being a prosperous and middle-income country by 2030 as stipulated in its Vision 2030 is dependent on among others, a healthy and productive population. Therefore, the Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ) has prioritized health as a key socio-economic inves...tment in the Seventh National Development Plan 2017-2021. The government is also committed to achieving the targets under the health goal number three and other health related targets under other goals of the 2030 Sustainable Development agenda. Despite progress which has been made in improving the health of Zambians, the country still faces a high burden of communicable diseases and a growing burden of non-communicable diseases. Structural and social deprivation including poverty, inequalities and marginalisation also remain major threats to health. In order to effectively address all the social determinants of health, all sectors should take into account health and well-being as a key element of policy development.
more
EQUIP: Ensuring Quality in Psychological Support is a joint WHO/UNICEF project to improve the competence of helpers and the consistency and quality of training and service delivery. The EQUIP platform makes freely available competency assessment tools and e-learning courses to support governments, t...raining institutions, and non-governmental organizations, both in humanitarian and development settings, to train and supervise the workforce to deliver effective psychological support to adults and children.
EQUIP enhances training and supervision for improved mental health and psychosocial support services.
EQUIP used a consensus-building approach including key stakeholders to develop the evidence-informed competency-based training materials and guidance, as well as the competency assessment tools. These resources have been tested in Ethiopia, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Nepal, Peru, Uganda and Zambia, with results demonstrating training improvements in groups that used the EQUIP platform. For example, use of EQUIP in Lebanon with children and adolescents led to an increase in mastery of core helping skills compared to standard training approaches.
more
This document addresses preparedness as an important investment against natural and man-made disasters. Through good practices, it urges the humanitarian community, governments and regional bodies to use preparedness thinking to be aware of risks, to reduce them and to plan ahead to combat them in o...rder to respond more effectively and reduce the threat of hunger, disease, poverty and conflicts. It uses examples from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Bolivia, Colombia, Cook Islands, Ghana, Haiti, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Korea, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Panama, Philippines, Samoa, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Zambia and Zimbabwe
more