SHARe II Quarterly Report: January 1, 2012 – March 31, 2012

The project is implemented by John Snow Inc. and is funded by USAID/Zambia. The project's purpose is to support the Zambian government in its efforts to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The project's vision is to have a strong and effective national response to HIV/AIDS, with leadership involvement and policy and regulatory environments that support the epidemic's control. The project's mission is to strengthen the capacity of the National AIDS Council (NAC) and other coordinating structures to sustain the HIV/AIDS response. The project's goal is to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS in Zambia by improving leadership involvement, policy and regulatory environments, and organizational and technical capacities. The project has three main objectives. The first objective is to strengthen and expand leadership involvement in HIV/AIDS and improve the policy and regulatory environment. This includes providing support to traditional leaders, members of parliament, and influential opinion-leaders, as well as developing a HIV/AIDS leadership training manual. The project also aims to improve the policy and regulatory environment by revising the national HIV/AIDS/STI/TB policy, formulating a national alcohol policy, and amending the employment act. The second objective is to strengthen the organizational and technical capacity of coordinating structures to sustain the HIV/AIDS response. This includes providing support to NAC in the development of the district coordination toolkit and the DATF toolkit and sub-granting manual. The project also aims to strengthen the capacity of provincial and district AIDS task forces (PATFs and DATFs) to coordinate the provincial and district level response. The third objective is to strengthen and expand workplace HIV/AIDS programs. This includes engaging leadership for an enhanced workplace-based HIV/AIDS response, implementing the SHARe II HIV/AIDS workplace programs core package, and expanding and replicating efforts in the private and public sectors. The project aims to support the development of workplace HIV/AIDS policies and programs in various sectors, including the tourism industry, small, medium, and large businesses, and the informal sector. During the quarter, the project made significant progress in achieving its objectives. The project provided support to traditional leaders, members of parliament, and influential opinion-leaders, and developed a HIV/AIDS leadership training manual. The project also made progress in improving the policy and regulatory environment, including revising the national HIV/AIDS/STI/TB policy and formulating a national alcohol policy. In addition, the project provided support to NAC in the development of the district coordination toolkit and the DATF toolkit and sub-granting manual. The project also made progress in strengthening the capacity of PATFs and DATFs to coordinate the provincial and district level response. The project provided technical support to DATF and PATF organizational capacity assessments (OCA) and supported the DATF certification process pilot. The project also made progress in strengthening and expanding workplace HIV/AIDS programs. The project engaged leadership for an enhanced workplace-based HIV/AIDS response and implemented the SHARe II HIV/AIDS workplace programs core package. The project also expanded and replicated efforts in the private and public sectors, including the tourism industry, small, medium, and large businesses, and the informal sector. Overall, the SHARe II Project in Zambia has made significant progress in achieving its objectives and contributing to the national response to HIV/AIDS. The project's efforts have improved leadership involvement, policy and regulatory environments, and organizational and technical capacities, and have contributed to the reduction of the spread of HIV/AIDS in Zambia.