Population Council in Zambia

The Population Council seeks to improve the well- being and reproductive health of current and future generations around the world and to help achieve a humane, equitable, and sustainable balance be- tween people and resources. Since 1952, the Popu- lation Council has been the premier international organization conducting biomedical, public health, and social science research on population issues. The Council has worked in sub-Saharan Africa for over 40 years and in Zambia since 1994.

PHOTO CREDIT: LOUIS APICELLA

Responding to SGBV Innovations in family planning The Council is collaborating with the Ministries of For the past 15 years, the Council has supported the Health and Home Affairs (Zambia Police Service) to MOH’s efforts to improve FP in Zambia. With technical strengthen multi-sectoral services for survivors of sexual assistance from the WHO and the Council, in 1995 the and gender-based violence (SGBV). From 2005–2008, MOH undertook a strategic assessment of contraceptive the three institutions piloted an intervention in Cop- needs which proved pivotal in shaping the future of RH perbelt Province that trained police officers to provide services in Zambia. Based on the assessment’s recom- SGBV survivors with immediate access to emergency mendations, the Expanding Contraceptive Choice study contraception and referrals for health services. This pilot was launched in 11 rural health centers across the Cop- demonstrated that police could safely and effectively perbelt. Rigorous evaluation demonstrated this project’s provide such services, and that the two sectors could success, and it was subsequently scaled up across the deliver integrated care. The intervention was also found province. This Pilots to Regional Programs model was to increase community confidence in both institutions, adopted by the MOH as a “best practice,” and was cred- contributing to a greater likelihood to seek health and ited with introducing a distance-based training strategy police support for SGBV. The Council is working with appropriate for low-resource settings (the Self-Directed the two Ministries to scale-up the intervention nation- Learning Manual, SDLM), two new FP methods (emer- wide; it is also being replicated in Malawi and Kenya. gency contraception and the Standard Days Method), This work is supported by the Swedish-Norwegian HIV/ developing strong community/health center linkages, AIDS Team in Africa as part of the Council’s 9-country and realizing an 81% increase in new acceptors and 90% African Regional Network on SGBV which is managed rise in continuing acceptors. Today, efforts to continue to from Lusaka. scale-up this model in Northwestern and Luapula prov- inces and to update the SDLM tool for integration into Under the leadership of the National Cabinet’s Gender the national training curriculum are underway. USAID/ in Development Division (GIDD), the Council has sup- Zambia, WHO and UNFPA supported this project. ported the development of evidence-based policies on SGBV. Drawing on a large body of research conducted by the Population Council in Zambia and across the Project monitoring and evaluation region, the Council has collaborated with government Since 2004, the Council has served as the external evalu- and civil society stakeholders to draft and validate the ator to the RAPIDS, a multi-sectoral scale-up of com- National Guidelines on the Multidisciplinary Manage- munity-based initiatives to mitigate the impact of HIV/ ment of SGBV in Zambia. AIDS in Zambia, with a focus on orphans and vulner- able children (OVC). The Council’s and threats to their mobility. The Recent publications quantitative and qualitative evalu- results are leading to new conclu- ation activities and accompanying sions about how aspects of gender, These publications and many others on Council research in Zambia are available quality assessment studies are pro- economics, violence, and access to at www.popcouncil.org/zambia viding practical results to support health services interact. improvements in service delivery. The Council is collaborating with 2009 The Population Council is a mem- the YWCA to create social and “Community interventions providing care ber of the Male Circumcision (MC) economic assets for in- and out-of- and support to orphans and vulnerable Partnership led by Population Ser- school girls ages 15–19, including children: A review of evaluation evidence” vices International (Zambia’s Society teenage mothers. Under this pilot, for Family Health) and Marie Stopes the YWCA is developing “safe 2008 International. This partnership was spaces” for 100 adolescent girls in created to establish multi-sectoral Mongu and Lusaka. The project will “The HIV testing experiences of adoles- cents in Ndola, Zambia: Do families and provider networks for high-quality train female mentors to provide safe friends matter?” adult MC services. These networks spaces for girls to receive life skills will contribute to national strate- training, literacy classes, and aware- “Involving young people in the care gies for expanding MC services by ness education on gender, human and support of people living with HIV delivering approximately 676,000 rights, HIV/AIDS, STIs, and repro- in Zambia: An evaluation of program affordable or free MCs in two ductive health. It is anticipated that sustainability” African countries over five years. an intensive financial literacy train- “Caring for caregivers: An HIV/AIDS The Partnership will generate in- ing covering budgeting, saving, plan- workplace intervention for hospital staff in formed demand for these services ning, and resource mobilization will Zambia—Evaluation results” and discourage risk compensation provide a strong foundation to help “Engaging communities in supporting HIV through innovative BCC campaigns. the girls start viable and sustainable prevention and adherence to antiretroviral Research on operational models income-generating small businesses. therapy in Zambia” conducted by the Council will This DFID-funded project began in generate evidence to recommend July 2009. “Food on the table: The role of liveli- hood strategies in maintaining nutritional MC service-delivery models suitable status among ART patients in Kenya and to different countries and contexts. Simulated microbicide trials Zambia” Jointly, these activities will provide In preparation for clinical trials lessons learned and best practices “Circumstances and motivations for foster- of next generation microbicide ing children in Zambia” that will allow the partnership to products, the Council will conduct educate other donors, governments, several methodological experi- “Supporting orphans and vulnerable chil- and organizations about scaling up ments aimed to improve trial design dren affected by AIDS: Using community- MC activities more broadly. within the context of a simulated generated definitions to explore patterns of children’s vulnerability in Zambia” clinical trial. It will investigate the Reducing the vulnerability of acceptability of a daily gel versus an “Understanding adolescent girls’ protec- adolescent girls intravaginal ring for microbicide de- tion strategies against HIV: Exploratory In a recent study conducted with the livery; assess the feasibility of using research in Zambia” University of Zambia, the Coun- interactive voice response surveys cil explored how adolescent girls (IVRS) to collect self-reports of 2007 constructed notions of HIV risk, product use and adherence to study “From pilots to regional programs: Ex- whether or not they link structural protocols, and will employ a house- panding contraceptive choice and improv- and environmental factors to risk, hold survey as a novel recruitment ing quality of care in Zambia’s Copperbelt: and what strategies they develop to technique. Final project report” protect themselves. This study dem- “Sexual risk-taking and HIV testing among onstrated their deep concerns about health workers in Zambia” sexual and reproductive health and autonomy, a sense of lack of physi- cal safety in school and community,

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