IntraHealth has been selected by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to lead a new program to increase the accessibility and use of confidential HIV counseling and testing services among selected rural populations in Zambia. Funded under the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the five-year, $1.5 million dollar initiative will work in two Zambian districts—Namwala and Luangwa.

IntraHealth will assist Zambia’s Ministry of Health and local partners to make confidential HIV counseling and testing (C&T) services available and accessible in these districts, with the aim of

• Increasing the number of people who receive counseling and testing
• Increasing the number of HIV+ people referred to treatment for antiretroviral therapy and prevention of mother-to-child transmission services
• Reducing stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV and AIDS through support groups and community outreach activities.

To achieve these goals, the program plans to establish and expand C&T services among these districts’ rural populations, establish mobile and home-based C&T services, and train lay counselors to provide C&T services.

IntraHealth  leads HIV/AIDS-related projects in several other sub-Saharan African countries, including Rwanda, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Kenya, Namibia and Southern Sudan. IntraHealth's extensive experience in HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment will be applied to this program's new challenges.