Gender Mainstreaming Strategy for USAID/Z-CHPP

The project supports Zambia to reach the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS' (UNAIDS) goal of having 90% of all People Living with HIV (PLHIV) know their status, 90% of those who know their HIV positive status receive sustained anti-retroviral therapy (ART), and 90% of those on ART achieve viral suppression in 2020. To accomplish its goal, Z-CHPP seeks to increase the uptake of high-impact HIV services and protective behaviors among at-risk populations using evidence-based and locally owned solutions. The project has four specific objectives: mitigation of key determinants of risky behavior among priority populations, increase in completed referrals from community programs to high-impact services, community adoption of actions to reduce young women's vulnerability to HIV, unintended pregnancy, and sexual gender-based violence (SGBV), and strengthened capacity of local stakeholders to plan, monitor, evaluate, and ensure the quality of prevention interventions. Z-CHPP maximizes the impact of USAID resources by focusing on high-prevalence districts, targeting population groups that are at high risk of becoming infected or infecting others, and tailoring approaches to different segments of the population. The project leverages existing relationships at the community level by engaging and supporting traditional and religious leaders, community-based service providers, and the decentralized government structures. Z-CHPP implements project activities in 25 priority districts across Lusaka, Central, Copperbelt, Western, North Western, and Southern provinces. Within each district, the project aims to achieve a high saturation of interventions, focusing first on rapid scale-up of HIV testing services (HTS) and reaching PLHIV who are outside of the treatment cascade, then expanding the coverage and scope of activities including a comprehensive package of interventions to reach priority high-risk populations. The project integrates gender across all areas of its HIV prevention activities, recognizing that harmful gender norms and inequality continue to undermine progress in controlling and responding to the HIV epidemic. By tailoring the response to the needs of different ages and identities, Z-CHPP can meet its project goals and provide comprehensive combination HIV prevention services to the women, men, girls, and boys who are at the highest risk of acquiring infection as a result of gender dynamics. Z-CHPP prioritizes gender equity and gender equality as a critical dimension to its strategy for HIV prevention in Zambia. The project recognizes that tackling gender norms and inequities in Zambia is not just essential to achieving optimal health for women and girls, but is, in fact, essential for reducing HIV risk and will significantly contribute to optimal health outcomes for all Zambians. The project uses a gender mainstreaming approach defined as the process of assessing the implications for women and men of any planned action, including legislation, policies, or programs, in all areas. This approach aims to make women's as well as men's concerns and experiences an integral dimension of the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of policies and programs in all political, economic, and societal spheres so that women and men benefit equally and inequality is not perpetuated. The ultimate aim of Z-CHPP's gender mainstreaming strategy is to achieve gender equality. This strategy document provides the overarching framework, strategy entry points, and approaches. Supporting project tools and documents will provide more detailed guidance for Z-CHPP partners and sub-partners to implement the project's gender mainstreaming approach.