Zambian Campaign Platform

Summary

The World AIDS Campaign has been involved in Zambia since 2007 supporting the development of a civil society platform consisting of the national network of PLHIV, women's organisations, youth groups, traditional Leaders and faith based organisations.

Programme Partners

• Network of the Zambian People living with HIV/AIDS (NZP+)
• ZAYCO
• Zambia AIDSlaw Research and Advocacy Network (ZARAN)
• Southern Africa AIDS Information Dissemination Service (SAFAIDS)
• Centre for Economic Governance for AIDS in Africa (CEEGA)
• OXFAM

Mission and Vision

• An inclusive and diverse PLHIV movement-centered, civil society-led structure that is sustainable;
• A structure which thinks and acts strategically to achieve Universal Access through campaigning, advocacy and lobbying; and
• A structure, which is realistic about the need to act with others regionally and globally in addressing the barriers to achieving Universal Access.

Current Campaigns

• HIV financing – The campaign was developed to hold leaders accountable for mismanagement of funds. A workshop was held for budget tracking and monitoring
• Drug stock-outs- This was led by TALC and Youth Vision to monitor clinics and organising of a public campaign to “name and shame” of ARV managers at those clinics who run out of stock
• Creating Youth-friendly HIV services
• Training at the national and local level around Government budget tracking;
• Letters were written to, and meetings held with, the Minister of Health and the National President demanding that legal action be taken against the Ministry of Health for the mismanagement of donor funds;
• Inclusion of a civil society presence in the Department of Health for planning and budgetary processes. The Civil Society Health Forum is currently working with the Ministry of Health in developing an anti-corruption code; and
• The Zambia AIDS Campaign is currently working with local partners supported by AIDS Alliance Zambia. Local partners are monitoring clinics for drug shortages and this is then taken and raised at the Civil Society Health forum meetings with the Health Ministry.

Key current priorities for the platform include budget tracking, monitoring of drugs stock out and the campaign against the mismanagement of donor funds for health and prosecution of those responsible. WAC is working with the task team on a submission focusing on new target and HIV financing to the National Strategic Plan on HIV and AIDS 2011 – 2015.

Other

In April 2009, consultations were held with the Zambia AIDS Campaign Steering Group members around exploring a way forward for the campaign and in June 2009 a strategy development meeting was held to further clarify the joint campaigning strategy for the Zambia AIDS Campaign for the next 18 months under the umbrella of Human Rights and Universal Access, with a particular focus on financing the HIV response in Zambia. We held a Human Rights and Advocacy workshop and together with CEGAA we facilitated a budget tracking workshop.

Alliance Zambia supports community action on HIV, with a particular focus on working with youth, orphans and vulnerable children, and people living with HIV.

Between 2007 and 2010 GNP+ worked with ZARAN, ZANAN, TALC, AIDS Alliance, Youth Vision to produce a campaigning plan. This work was completed by 2009. WAC and GNP+, supported by DFID and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) organized a workshop in lobbying, advocacy and campaigning strategies. Out of this workshop the following emerged as priorities:

GNP+ and WAC have fostered an excellent partnership in Zambia. The two agencies jointly hosted a successful national training workshop in Lusaka at the start of June 2010. The workshop focused on the exchange of skills and sharing of experiences with regards to lobbying, advocacy and campaigning strategies. The basis of the workshop was the launch of the research that was conducted by the Network of People Living with HIV in Zambia (NZP+) in partnership with GNP+. The participants were drawn from the broader civil society and also from the NZP+ structures. At the end of the workshop, the participants adopted a six - month action plan that focused on issues around GIPA and labour law reforms among other pertinent issues in the country.