SHARe II Quarterly Report: October 1, 2012 – December 31, 2012

The project's purpose is to strengthen leadership involvement in HIV/AIDS and improve the policy and regulatory environment. The project's vision is to contribute to a society where HIV/AIDS is no longer a major public health concern. The project's mission is to support the Government of Zambia in its efforts to strengthen the national response to HIV/AIDS, with a focus on leadership involvement, policy and regulatory environment, organizational and technical capacity, and workplace HIV/AIDS programs. The project's goal is to contribute to a reduction in new HIV infections and an increase in access to HIV/AIDS services. The project has four main objectives. The first objective is to strengthen and expand leadership involvement in HIV/AIDS and improve the policy and regulatory environment. This involves providing technical support to leaders in HIV/AIDS advocacy, mainstreaming HIV/AIDS, gender, and human rights into pre-service training for law enforcement officers, and developing a tracking and monitoring system for HIV-related legislation. The second objective is to strengthen the organizational and technical capacity of coordinating structures to sustain the HIV/AIDS response. This involves strengthening the capacity of the National AIDS Council (NAC) to coordinate the national response, supporting the capacity of Provincial AIDS Task Forces (PATFs) and District AIDS Task Forces (DATFs) to coordinate the provincial and district level response, and strengthening the capacity of civil society organizations to coordinate HIV/AIDS response. The third objective is to strengthen and expand workplace HIV/AIDS programs. This involves implementing the SHARe II HIV/AIDS workplace programs core package, expanding and replicating efforts in the private sector and the informal sector, and expanding and replicating efforts in the public sector. The fourth objective is to strengthen collaboration and coordination of HIV/AIDS activities with the Government of the Republic of Zambia, USG-funded partners, and other stakeholders. This involves supporting joint planning with and buy-in of programs of HIV implementers and stakeholders to GRZ plans and strategies, supporting NAC coordination of the national HIV/AIDS response, and supporting USG bilateral partner workplace programs. During the quarter, the project undertook various activities to achieve its objectives. These included the development of a concept paper on HIV/AIDS leadership, the identification of stakeholders and agreeing mechanisms of collaboration, and the provision of technical support to leaders in HIV/AIDS advocacy. The project also supported the development of a tracking and monitoring system for HIV-related legislation and the mainstreaming of HIV/AIDS, gender, and human rights into pre-service training for law enforcement officers. The project also provided support to the Zambia Federation of Employers, the Zambia Congress of Trade Union, and the Tourism HIV/AIDS Public-Private Partnership to expand and replicate efforts in the private sector and the informal sector. In addition, the project provided support to the National AIDS Council to develop a common national monitoring and evaluation framework. The project's monitoring and evaluation activities included the provision of M&E support to the SHARe II Secretariat units and the provision of M&E support to SHARe II partners. The project also conducted a midterm evaluation, which revealed a 27% increase in household income among program participants compared to the control group. The project's finance and administration activities included the award of contracts, planning and budgeting, staffing and recruitment, and procurement of vehicles and equipment. The project's key personnel included the project director, the deputy project director, and the finance and administration manager. The project also had other local hire staff, including a procurement officer and a human resources officer.