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The HIV/AIDS problem in Zambia
LUBASI, Sundano Kutoma
ABSTRACT THE HIV/AIDS PROBLEM IN ZAMBIA HIV/AIDS is a global health problem, however it is much more of a bigger problem for third world and developing countries, including Zambia which currently has an HIV/AIDS prevalence rate of 14.3%. From the mid 1980s when the first case of HIV/AIDS was discovered, there has been a rapid increase in the number of reported cases of HIV/AIDS over the years. In Zambia, the issue of mother to child transmission of the HIV virus is still a matter of great concern, there is still quite a number of children that are being born from HIV positive mothers. The death rate due to AIDS and HIV/ AIDS related infections especially among the young people is also worrying. This has consequently led to a reduction in the number of the country's productive age group, which in turn has contributed to the weakening of productivity and economic development. The main aim of my thesis was monitoring the problem of HIV/AIDS in Zambia, other accompanying aims were to find out what measures have been put in place to ensure that the citizens are well informed about HIV/AIDS, to analyze the preventive measures that have been implemented and how effective they have been, and finally, to find out the trend in the HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in the period 1999 ? 2009. I used qualitative type of research, in which I used secondary analysis of data from various sources of information like books, various publications and reports from a wide range of organizations both governmental and non - governmental organizations that have done various kinds of research on the topic of HIV/ AIDS in Zambia. I also used information from health surveillance findings that were carried out in the recent years. According to the results of my research, the various preventive programmes that have been implemented to ensure a reduction in the spread of HIV/AIDS have been effective. Notable among the preventive programmes is the establishment health services aimed at preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS from mother to child , free provision of antiretroviral therapy, the increase in the number of voluntary counseling and testing centers, free distribution of condoms, screening of blood and blood products before transfusion as well as massive health education campaigns. These preventive measures have been effective as can be seen from the reduction in the HIV/AIDS prevalence rates from the previous 16% according to the 2001- 2002 demographic and health survey to the current 14.3% according to the 2007 health survey. This work can be used as a source of reference for future research in relation to the problem of HIV/AIDS in Zambia.
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