New National HIV Strategy Unveiled

... Dr. Banda says, the 2025–2030 HIV Prevention Roadmap will set multi-sector priorities, expands community-led services, and strengthens domestic financing to reduce rising HIV infections.

By Francis Maingaila ♥️

Lusaka, Zambia24 — 27 November 2025

Zambia has unveiled its new national HIV strategy following a two-day HIV Prevention Symposium in Lusaka, where government leaders, Parliament, UN agencies, cooperating partners, civil society, and faith institutions agreed on coordinated measures to curb rising HIV infections. 

The 2025–2030 HIV Prevention Roadmap, which guides the country’s multi-sector approach, was endorsed as the central framework for expanding community-led services, scaling up new technologies, and strengthening domestic financing to tackle the epidemic.

“HIV prevention is the backbone of our AIDS response,” said National AIDS Council Director General Kebby Musokotwane, presenting the resolutions on behalf of all participants. 

He cited the 30,000 new infections recorded in 2024 and expressed concern that 38 percent occurred among adolescents and young people aged 10 to 24, with adolescent girls and young women three times more likely to acquire HIV than their male peers.

Musokotwane said stakeholders committed to using the HIV Prevention Roadmap to guide national efforts, calling for stronger political leadership, improved coordination across sectors, and increased investment to address emerging challenges, including donor funding cuts. 

He said the strategy also requires integrating HIV prevention into broader health and community systems, including climate-related health planning.

He added that delegates supported scaling up new prevention technologies such as long-acting injectable PrEP, adopting the U=U (Undetectable = Untransmittable) message nationally, and ensuring consistent availability of HIV prevention commodities in all provinces. 

Musokotwane said communities and civil society will play an expanded role, leading 80 percent of prevention services and conducting 30 percent of independent monitoring.

Delivering a speech on behalf of Minister of Health Elijah Muchima, Musokotwane highlighted Zambia’s progress toward the 95-95-95 targets, achieving 98-98-97. 

He warned, however, that rising infections threaten these gains and said HIV must now be treated as both a health and societal challenge, requiring deeper engagement from education, youth, labour, faith institutions, and local authorities.

The minister’s statement urged partners to commit to seven areas: scaling up new interventions, strengthening youth-focused programs, integrating HIV and sexual health education into schools, enhancing social protection for vulnerable populations, removing policy barriers, promoting domestic financing, and expanding community-based prevention and care services.

UNAIDS Country Director Issac Ahemesah welcomed the symposium’s resolutions but cautioned that without decisive action, new HIV infections could double to 60,000 by 2030. 

He said Zambia must accelerate the implementation of the prevention roadmap, ensure nationwide access to long-acting PrEP, and adopt a comprehensive prevention package that includes condoms, PrEP, and STI testing and treatment.

Ahemesah emphasised the global 80-60-30 targets, which require that by 2030, most HIV prevention services for key populations and adolescents be community-led, with 30 percent of service delivery monitored by communities. 

He also highlighted the underutilised potential of the faith community, which can reach large populations and influence social norms and behaviours.

UNFPA Country Director Anna Hamstron said the year had been challenging due to disruptions in funding for reproductive health commodities. 

She noted that although UNFPA supplies 65 percent of Zambia’s reproductive health commodities, including most male condoms, 70 percent of distribution costs previously relied on U.S. funding. 

Distribution challenges earlier in the year forced UNFPA to reprogramme its core funds to prevent shortages.

Hamstron commended the government for allocating four million dollars for distribution next year and investing 11.3 million dollars in reproductive health commodities over the past three years, describing the domestic contribution as a global best practice. 

She said alternative access points, such as youth resource centres and community venues, are needed to increase condom availability, especially in high-demand locations such as “male makeup clubs,” which she personally visited and found empty.

“Engaging faith institutions is critical,” Hamstron added, citing UNFPA’s partnerships with Caritas, the Anglican Church, and ZINGO. 

She said these organisations can significantly improve prevention uptake and reach communities that are otherwise difficult to access.

Parliamentary Committee on Health Chairperson Joseph Simumpuka Munsanje said Parliament remains committed to supporting the HIV response through legislation, oversight, and budgetary allocations. 

He highlighted that domestic financing now covers 87 percent of the health budget, reflecting strong national ownership. Parliament also increased the SAHAM drug procurement allocation from about 3.5 billion kwacha to nearly 5 billion kwacha to strengthen supply chains.

Munsanje said the committee is working with the Ministry of Health to expand the health workforce by recruiting more community health officers, following the successful recruitment of 35,000 teachers. 

He also emphasised the importance of delivering age-appropriate life skills and health education in schools to protect young people from misinformation and risky behaviours, noting that rising youth infections make such interventions urgent.

Global Fund Country Director Dr. Joshua Banda praised Parliament for strengthening domestic financing and reiterated that community and faith sectors remain indispensable partners. 

He said churches presented a strong proposal during the symposium showing how they can mobilise local financing, source local materials, deploy volunteers, and foster behaviour change. 

Banda stressed that Zambia must return to community-based approaches that were effective during the home-based care era.

“HIV prevention must be de-medicalised to succeed in communities,” Banda said. 

He stressed that prevention is an investment that saves lives and reduces long-term costs, warning that cutting back now would reverse progress and increase future financial and human costs.

Banda urged delegates to embrace shared accountability, ensure consistent funding for prevention, strengthen community leadership, and fast-track national initiatives aimed at ending AIDS by 2030. 

He emphasized that only a coordinated, well-resourced, multi-sectoral approach can preserve Zambia’s gains and secure the health of future generations.