Zambia News

The WHO Country Office hosted a stakeholder’s consultative meeting on 26th October 2011 to review the draft five-year Joint Strategy for accelerating the scale up of Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision for HIV Prevention in priority countries in East and Southern Africa. This strategy has been developed by WHO and other partners to ensure that by 2016, countries with generalized HIV epidemics and low prevalence of medical male circumcision would have stablished sustainable national male circumcision programmes.

Lusaka, 22nd November 2011 -- The second National HIV Prevention Convention opened in Lusaka yesterday under the theme “Securing Zambia’s future through combination HIV prevention, palliative care and treatment.” The 3-day convention has been convened by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the National HIV/AIDS/STI/TB Council, the United Nations County Team in Zambia and other partners to take stock of progress made in terms of the resolutions which were adopted at the first HIV prevention convention which was held in 2009.

In 2011, the WHO Country Office embarked on a programme to strengthen disease surveillance activities in the country through donation of vehicles. A total of 6 provinces (Copperbelt, Luapula, Lusaka, Northern, Southern and Western Provinces) each received a vehicle for disease surveillance activities.

On February 10th, 2012, the WHO Country Office donated a Nissan Hard Body to the Central Province Medical Office in Kabwe. Central Province has a total of six districts namely, Kabwe, Chibombo, Kapiri Mposhi, Serenje, Mumbwa and Mkushi with a population of 1,300,000. 

In this issue:

- WHO donates to the New School of Medicine at the Copperbelt University

- WHO supports a demonstration course on the Afro Generic Training Package on Focused Antenatal Care (FANC)

- World No Tobacco Day in Zambia 31st May 2012

WHO News Zambia, June 2012

Lusaka, 9th October, 2012 -- The Minister of Health, Hon. Dr. Joseph Kasonde has commissioned a National vaccine cold chain store for the Expanded programme on Immunisation with a total capacity of 200,000 litres to serve as a central storage facility and distribution point for vaccines for all the ten provinces in the country.

Lusaka, 04 December 2012 -- The World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa (WHO/AFRO) in collaboration with WHO Global Capacities, Alert and Response has organized a regional meeting for mapping of unmet country needs to accelerate the implementation of the International Health Regulations (2005) in the African Region. Since the IHR (2005) came into force in 2007, many countries in the WHO African Region have developed IHR implementation plans and improved their surveillance and response capacities.

Lusaka 07 December 2012 -- The World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa (WHO/AFRO) and WHO Global Capacities, Alert and Response stakeholders regional meeting for mapping of unmet country needs to accelerate the implementation of the International Health Regulations (2005) in the African Region came to a conclusion on 6th December 2012. The WHO Country Representative, Dr. Olusegun Babaniyi officially closed the meeting.

The WHO Representative, Dr. Olusegun Babaniyi visited the Eastern Province Medical Office (PMO) from 12th-15th February 2013. The mission was undertaken to gain a better insight of how health development challenges were being addressed in the province and to identify areas for further collaboration and support through the Technical Cooperation Programme with Government. Dr. Babaniyi was welcomed to the province by the Provincial Minister, Hon. Malozo Sichone (MP), The Permanent Secretary, Mr. Bert Mushala and the Provincial Medical Officer, Dr. Kennedy Malama.

The Human Papilloma Virus vaccine has been introduced for the first time in the immunization programme in Zambia. The vaccine was introduced on 27th May 2013 on pilot basis in Chongwe, Kafue and Lusaka districts to pave way for scale-up to the rest of the country. The vaccination programme is using a school-based strategy which is targeting all girls in grade 4 while out of school girls aged 10 years will access the vaccines from the health centres and through community based strategies.

Zambia joined the rest of the world to commemorate the World No Tobacco Day on 31st May under the theme “Ban tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship”. The Ministry of Health took the lead in mobilising various partners and stakeholders to participate in the campaign events. Government Ministries and Departments, Non-Governmental Organizations, Youth Organizations, schools and community based organisations are taking part in the various advocacy and awareness raising events lined up for the WNTD 2013 campaign.