The Zambian HIV/AIDS Learning Initiative (ZHLI)

September 2003 - September 2008

Since its independence in 1964, Zambia has struggled to rise above the combined challenges of a colonial legacy, the plummeting of copper prices, national debt, and uneven national leadership. Added to these is the erosive influence of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, which is among the most advanced and devastating AIDS epidemics in the world today.

The effects of HIV/AIDS are felt at every level and in every sector of Zambian society reversing development gains realized after independence. The most productive segment of society needed for economic growth has been decimated. The number of AIDS orphans has reached staggering numbers, seriously straining the abilities of the traditionally strong extended family network. The disease itself overwhelms key public sectors with high losses in skilled personnel. The public health care system is unable to care for the sick, overburdening the cadre of community workers physically and psychologically. The education system cannot adequately staff schools because of loss of personnel and financial shortages while children (especially girls) are unable to continue education either because they have to care for sick relatives, or because their families no longer have funds to meet school fees and related education costs.

The pandemic has also greatly impacted Zambian NGOs. Because of surging demand for public health services in the past decade, Zambian organizations have been over-stretched. This challenge has been compounded by chronic shortages in skilled key personnel. The increasing interest of the international donor community in supporting HIV/AIDS work has created an unanticipated growth at a pace and scale that outstrips NGOs' managerial capacity.

Effective linkages among the proliferation of Zambian NGOs and networks working in HIV/AIDS is needed to ensure learning and sharing of best practices. Such linkages will also enable NGOs to improve their capacity to be effective in employing multisectoral or trans-sectoral responses to HIV/AIDS and increase their capacity for stewardship of HIV/AIDS resources.

Pact's Approach

Pact's response to the situation in Zambia is the Zambian HIV/AIDS Learning Initiative, which aims to enhance the capacity of leading Zambian NGO networks, government, the private sector and independent media to promote multisectoral responses to HIV/AIDS. The specific objectives of the program are to:

1. strengthen the operational, technical and financial management capacity of Zambian NGOs and networks leading multisectoral HIV/AIDS prevention and care activities
2. integrate tested innovations, best practices, and lessons learned for effective HIV/AIDS responses across all sectors
3. expand collaboration of Zambian NGOs and networks among all stakeholders leading multi-sectoral HIV/AIDS initiatives.

These objectives are being pursued through partnerships with four key Zambian organizations: the Churches Health Association of Zambia (CHAZ), the Zambian Independent Media Association (ZIMA), the Zambia Business Coalition on AIDS (ZBCA), and the Zambian National AIDS Council (NAC).

The three program objectives are built upon the following operational pillars: 1) the NGO Excellence Program; 2) Multisectoral Sharing and Learning Teams; and 3) the Service Provider and Knowledge Resource Referral Service.

The NGO Excellence Program (NEXus) provides NGOs with the opportunity to assess their own capacity, formulate plans for improvement, and access participatory trainings, technical assistance, and coaching focusing on a range of foundational themes of organizational effectiveness. NEXus includes an executive leadership program to develop the skills, attitudes and political will among executive leaders—from civil society, government and business—to work together, motivate others and continually advance standards to realize their vision of an AIDS-free Zambia. The final core component of NEXus is the training of facilitators in "multisectoral tools for community action" which increases the effectiveness of community-led responses to HIV/AIDS.

In addition to NEXus activities, Zambian organizations can also participate in Sharing and Learning Teams (SALT). These learning teams create space for participants to formulate innovative responses to their greatest challenges in operations and in the delivery of multisectoral HIV/AIDS services. Learning teams will have access to small grants that will support action research, innovation, and peer-learning among ZHLI NGOs, business, media, and government to deepen practical knowledge of capacity building and test new approaches to multisectoral HIV/AIDS response. This will be combined with the ZHLI "Marketplace of Innovation," in which organizations can compete annually for a limited number of awards for creative multisectoral responses that show the greatest promise for replication and scale-up.

The third program pillar is the Service Provider and Knowledge Resource Referral Service (SPARK), which connects ZHLI participants to one another and fosters an environment of learning and sharing. SPARK utilizes appropriate technology to support: the exchange of information and best practices related to capacity building and mutlisectoral response, the matching of Zambian NGOs with capacity building needs to local organizations capable of responding to those needs, and the online collection of organizational assessment data.

Interim results

• Trained nine facilitators in techniques necessary to effectively lead ZHLI organizations through organizational self-assessment and action planning activities.
• Conducted an OCA tool design workshop with representatives from 15 NGOs and CBOs based in the Central, Western, and Northwestern provinces of Zambia. Participants in the workshop developed a framework and indicators for assessing their organizational capacity to respond to HIV/AIDS with multisectoral approaches.
• Completed organizational capacity assessments and action planning sessions with all 15 organizations. Follow-up capacity building activities in areas such as strategic planning are underway, facilitated by local service providers.
• Conducted the ZHLI's first executive leadership training. This participant-driven event created an opportunity for NGO leaders in the ZHLI to share their leadership experiences and begin establishing new alliances with one another. One of the products of the event that will support programmatic sustainability was the establishment of "co-mentors" and "leadership circles" that will contribute to long-term peer networking.
• Conducted the first "multisectoral tools for community action" (MTCA) workshop, in which participants began to identify local best practices in multisectoral HIV/AIDS response.
• Launched the SALT portion of the program, which has resulted in the establishment of eight learning teams, five of which have received small grants to test new, creative approaches to multisectoral response to HIV/AIDS. Topics the SALTs are addressing include: enhancing livelihoods for HIV/AIDS infected and affected persons, using community radio to enhance HIV/AIDS response, supporting people living with HIV/AIDS, using traditional practices to respond to HIV/AIDS, supporting orphans/vulnerable children, and promoting HIV/AIDS advocacy among rural youth.