Quarterly Report: October-December 2013 - Support to the HIV/AIDS Response in Zambia (SHARe II)

The project is implemented by John Snow Inc. (JSI) and partners, including Initiatives Inc, LEAD Program-Zambia, Zambia Interfaith Networking Organization on HIV (ZINGO), and Zambia Health Education and Communication Trust (ZHECT). The project's purpose is to support and strengthen the multi-sectoral response to HIV and AIDS in Zambia, contributing to the achievement of the USAID/Zambia Mission strategic objectives on reducing the impact of HIV/AIDS. The SHARe II project has four objectives or tasks: 1) Strengthen and expand leadership involvement in HIV/AIDS and improve the policy and regulatory environment; 2) Strengthen the organizational and technical capacity of coordinating structures to sustain the HIV/AIDS response; 3) Strengthen and expand HIV/AIDS workplace programs; and 4) Strengthen collaboration and coordination of HIV/AIDS activities with the Government of the Republic of Zambia, U.S. Government-funded partners, and other stakeholders. Task 1 of the SHARe II project focuses on strengthening and expanding leadership involvement in HIV/AIDS and improving the policy and regulatory environment. This is achieved through engaging, mobilizing, and equipping leaders to be effective HIV/AIDS change-agents, supporting the enactment, formulation, and implementation of appropriate HIV/AIDS-related policies and laws, and equipping partner institutions to manage HIV-related cases. SHARe II operates at two levels: the structural level, where technical support is provided to help leaders formulate and enact policies and laws, and the behavioral level, where leaders are built to use their authority and reach to enhance the HIV/AIDS response. In the quarter under review, SHARe II teams were involved in launching difficult conversations on sensitive issues, including discussions of condom use and widow inheritance in the context of the Deceased Brother's Widow's Marriage Act of 1926. These conversations were promoted through engagements with leaders and members of the public, including religious leaders, chiefs, and community members. The church has played a mixed role in the HIV/AIDS response in Zambia, contributing to health care provision, home-based care, and psychological support, but also undermining the work of HIV implementers through poorly informed and poorly equipped religious leaders. The SHARe II project has made significant progress in working with religious leaders to increase their leadership of and participation in HIV/AIDS programs. In one notable example, Mushili Mosque in Ndola, which had previously rejected HIV/AIDS teachings and refused to discuss condom use, has completely changed its attitude towards HIV/AIDS programs, including HIV/AIDS messaging, with support from the USAID-funded SHARe II project.