<p>Good morning, I am honored to be here today representing the United States Agency for International Development, better known as USAID. I bring you greetings from the United States Ambassador to Zambia, Mr. Eric Schultz. I am delighted to join the Minister of Gender, Honorable Professor Nkandu Luo, all other ministers and members of parliament at this timely event to encourage a cohesive national response to prevent Gender-Based Violence and Child Marriage. We see this as an important forum for sharing ideas about how we can most effectively work together and leverage our unique roles in meeting this common goal.</p>
USAID/Zambia’s program focuses on:
- Improving the health of Zambians;
- Reducing the incidence and impact of HIV/AIDS;
- Raising the quality of basic education;
- Increasing agriculture-led economic growth to reduce rural poverty and food insecurity;
- Mitigating the effects of climate vulnerability and promoting sustainable management of natural resources; and
- Enhancing democratic governance.
The U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), in collaboration with the National AIDS Council and UNAIDS, launched the DREAMS initiative today to reduce new HIV infections among adolescent girls and young women in Zambia. Zambia will receive more than $30 million dollars for DREAMS from the U.S. Government through PEPFAR. DREAMS is a public-private partnership with PEPFAR, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Nike Foundation, and Johnson & Johnson.
LUSAKA — The United States and Zambian governments officially launched our joint Zambia Family (ZAMFAM) activities that target orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) and people living with HIV (PLHIV) in four provinces in Zambia. Through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), with funding provided by the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), ZAMFAM seeks to help 225,000 OVC and 40,000 PLHIV over the life of the activity. Between 2015 and 2020, the U.S. Government will invest more than $48 million through the USAID ZAMFAM activities.
USAID and Sida are jointly unlocking $8 million in private sector lending for renewable energy production and agricultural sector investment across the country. This financing will better position farmers and landowners to invest in renewable energy technologies, such as biodigesters that can power a milk chiller, or in solar-powered devices that improve irrigation, increasing the amount of harvest and yields.
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