FOCUS
Promoting Health and Fighting Disease
Alleviating Hunger

MDGs ADDRESSED
MDG 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
MDG 2: Achieve universal primary education
MDG 4: Reduce under-five mortality by two-thirds
MDG 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases
MDG 8: Create a global partnership for development

OVERVIEW
Zambia made a successful transition to multi-party democracy in the 1990’s. However, the promised economic reforms have been slow to evolve. It is estimated that 86% of people live in poverty, and the country ranks 163rd out of 175 countries on the United Nations Human Development Index. Life expectancy is 40 years, and 16.5% (1 million people) of the adult population is infected with HIV/AIDS.

An estimated 25% of pregnant women are living with HIV, and 40% of babies born to those women are also infected. Over 750,000 Zambian children orphaned by HIV/AIDS, with the number estimated to reach over 1 million in the next ten years.

Zambia has one of the highest incidences of malaria-related deaths in the world —the disease kills almost 50,000 people annually. Malaria is responsible for 40% of the deaths among children under five, and 20% of the deaths of pregnant women.

Our PARTNERS
Episcopal Relief and Development is partnering with the Zambian Anglican Council (ZAC) to implement integrated health care and development programs that focus on preventing malaria and HIV/AIDS and improving food security, water, and sanitation. ZAC consists of five dioceses covering some of the most rural and remote areas in the country, and serves a total population of over 416,000 by training diocesan health workers who reach into the communities to implement health care initiatives.

Episcopal Relief and Development is also partnering with the Mindolo Ecumenical Foundation (MEF) on a multi-faceted program to support children orphaned by AIDS in the rural community of Kitwe. MEF is a leader in development in East and Central Africa through its work in peace building and reconciliation, leadership, community development and education.

Our CURRENT PROGRAMS
Episcopal Relief and Development is supporting and caring for children orphaned by AIDS and preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS and malaria in vulnerable communities.

Through our partnership with the Mindolo Ecumenical Foundation, Episcopal Relief and Development is providing young children with educational opportunities, health care and food, as well as training and opportunities for their extended families to increase their household income.

Episcopal Relief and Development’s partnership with the Zambian Anglican Council is saving lives through malaria prevention activities in rural and remote areas of the country. Episcopal Relief and Development is also working with ZAC to prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS from pregnant women to their newborn infants.

Promoting Health and Fighting Disease
Episcopal Relief and Development is building awareness protecting vulnerable populations—particularly pregnant women, young children, and the elderly and chronically ill—from malaria and malaria-related illnesses.
Episcopal Relief and Development is also working on a new initiative to Prevent Mother-to-Child HIV Transmission (PMTCT). The project will be conducted through the Livingstone Anglican Children’s project in the regions of Ngwena, Maramba, Namatama, Libuya, and nearby compounds in the Livingstone area.

• Long-lasting insecticide-treated nets, along with training in the proper use of nets, ensures that the most vulnerable are protected from the Anopheles mosquitoes that transmit malaria.
• Trained malaria “agents” and volunteers instruct community members in malaria prevention and treatment methods.
• Workshops instruct community health workers and traditional birth attendants to educate communities about sanitation, clean water, basic nutrition, and reproductive health issues.
• HIV/AIDS awareness workshops train traditional birth attendants, community health workers and traditional healers to teach prevention methods, provide counseling to those affected by AIDS including orphans, and encourage people to seek voluntary testing and treatment.
• Through the PMTCT program, community activists sensitize pregnant women to the risks of transmitting HIV/AIDS to their unborn child and encourage HIV testing.
• Support for HIV-positive mothers encourages them to receive and comply with PMTCT regimen to protect their health and prevent the virus being transmitted during the birth process and infancy.

Additionally, Episcopal Relief and Development is providing primary health care for children orphaned by AIDS in the Kitwe area in partnership with the Mindolo Ecumenical Foundation.

• Medical evaluations, immunization, and treatment ensure that these vulnerable children are monitored for any health problems or malnutrition.

Alleviating Hunger
Episcopal Relief and Development is working in the dioceses of the Zambian Anglican Council (ZAC), which are primarily rural and dependent on farming, to improve food supply and achieve economic stability.

• Improved seeds and training increases the crop quality and harvest in three dioceses—Eastern, Lusaka, and Kasenga.
• A demonstration farm in the Diocese of Lusaka teaches farmers effective techniques.
• A livestock program in the Dicoese of Kasenga provides goats to families to increase their food supply and create a source of income.

Episcopal Relief and Development is also preventing malnutrition among vulnerable pre-school age children who have been orphaned by AIDS in Kitwe. Through our partnership with the Mindolo Ecumenical Foundation, children are fed nutritious meals and families can participate in income generating activities to increase household earnings.

• Balanced meals for the children at the dining hall, supplemented by nutritious snacks and milk, prevent malnutrition.
• Monthly supplies of basic food items including corn, oil, sugar and beans allow caregivers to prepare nutritious meals at home.
• Training in farming techniques, held at the Mindolo Farm School, increases the amount of food families can grow at home.

Creating Economic Opportunities
Episcopal Relief and Development is assisting families caring for orphans and vulnerable children to increase their incomes through training, business development, and micro-finance opportunities.

• Skills training, including bookkeeping and marketing, along with micro-finance opportunities, help families develop small businesses such as dressmaking, carpentry, agriculture and baking.

Our PAST ACHIEVEMENTS
The NetsforLife^SM malaria prevention partnership distributed 70,869 long-lasting insecticide- treated nets during 2006- 2007. A total of 91,920 people were sensitized about malaria prevention, and 330 individuals were trained as malaria agents. This brings the total number of people protected to 162,789.

Episcopal Relief and Development also provided assisted the Zambian Anglican Council to reach victims of flooding that affected the Eastern, Central and Lusaka dioceses in 2007.

• Food rations and assistance in constructing temporary shelters ensured that 1,020 families had adequate food and shelter.

Episcopal Relief and Development’s previous work in Zambia has included:

• Providing voluntary HIV testing and counseling for people in the Katete district through St. Francis Hospital, the largest mission hospital in Zambia. St. Francis serves as the hub for a network of small hospitals and clinics for an area with approximately one million people.
• Establishing peer education programs that targeted area youth and commercial sex workers with HIV/AIDS prevention strategies.
• Developing community-based programs that provided home care for six hundred people who are chronically ill from HIV/AIDS.
• Supporting a project in rural Fiwila that trained 150 community volunteers to monitor more than five hundred children orphaned by AIDS living with extended families. A similar project in Luapala trained 60 caregivers to provide counseling and support to orphans in that community. The caregivers represented a cross-section of the community, including health care workers, traditional healers, birth attendants, and school personnel.