THE American government has approved US$385 million to support Zambia’s fight against HIV from next month to September next year.
The funds are part of the 2018 country operational plan of the United States President Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
US Ambassador to Zambia Daniel Foote said the American government remains committed to supporting Zambia in the fight against HIV.
Mr Foote said this during the launch of the 2018 country operational plan and commissioning of Kantolomba Pre-fabricated Clinic in Ndola yesterday.
“Over the last 15 years, PEPFAR has invested more than US$3.5 billion towards Zambia’s HIV response. We are proud to partner with the Zambian government, which has demonstrated strong leadership and commitment to achieving HIV epidemic control by 2020,” he said.
He called for the application of innovative approaches to prevent new infections.
Mr Foote said over the next year, priority will be given to expansion of access to HIV intervention services and delivering them to patients in the most convenient manner.
He commended Government’s commitment to decongesting health facilities, reducing patient travel time, and improving the overall quality of care through aggressive expansion of decentralised health care.
And US deputy global AIDS coordinator Mamadi Yilla said PEPFAR will invest US$1.2 billion globally to expand the diagnosis and treatment of HIV in men aged 24 to 35 years.
Minister of Health Chitalu Chilufya thanked the US government for approving the US$385 million towards the fight against HIV.
“This will help in reinvigorating the HIV responses and ensuring that we meet the target of having approximately 1.1 million people living with HIV on treatment by end of 2018,” Dr Chilufya said.