press releases

January 21, 2008. Lusaka 

Zambia Hosts First International Workshop on HIV/AIDS Counseling and Testing

LUSAKA, Zambia -- A three-day international HIV counseling and testing workshop, the first of its kind in the world, aimed to bolster HIV/AIDS prevention strategies and early access to treatment and care, opened today.

An estimated 33 million people worldwide are living with HIV/AIDS, yet only 10% of them know they are HIV-positive. To address this challenge, nearly 172 health experts from 25 countries are in Lusaka for the workshop, which was organized by the Zambia Ministry of Health, Population Services International (PSI), and Family Health International (FHI) with funding from the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).  The workshop will enable participants to share insights and best practices derived from research and HIV counseling and testing programs.

Addressing delegates at the opening of the workshop, U.S. Embassy Chargé d'Affaires Michael Koplovsky said, "Preventing new infections is the only long-term, sustainable way to turn the tide against HIV/AIDS. We have the necessary tools and treatment services, all people have to do is come forward and get tested. The sooner people know their status, the faster they will get help."  

Zambian Health Minister Dr. Brian Chituwo added, "Increasing access to counseling and testing services will continue to be a priority for the Zambian government." He further noted that the Ministry of Health plans to provide counseling and testing services to 800,000 people in 2008 and to one million in 2009.  

The workshop is expected to increase universal access to HIV counseling and testing, and participants are expected to take ideas and model approaches that will enable them to scale up access and delivery of services in their host countries.

PEPFAR is the largest global health initiative directed at a single disease that any nation has ever undertaken.  Since 2004, the U.S. Government has provided Zambia with more than $556 million to fight HIV/AIDS, and, in 2008, has offered an additional $269 million to tackle the disease. For more information about PEPFAR, please visit http://www.pepfar.gov
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