About the Embassy

U.S. - Zambia Partnership

Recognizing that Zambia has the potential to become one of Africa's leading free market democracies, the United States Government has focused considerable human and financial resources on areas critical to Zambia's development.

HIV/AIDS

• Zambia is one of 15 countries selected for assistance under President Bush's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, which will provide a total of $15 billion to these countries over 5 years. This is the largest international public health commitment in history aimed at a single disease.
  
• Zambia was a target for country for President Bush's Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMCT) initiative. U.S. Agency Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are implementing these activities. (Estimated funding for Zambia: $4.6 million this year
  
• USAID programs in all sectors include a focus on HIV/AIDS, aimed at prevention, treatment and care to mitigate the impact of the epidemic. Areas of focus include HIV counseling and testing, improved clinical and home-based treatment and care, support to Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVCs) and support for public health systems needed for HIV/AIDS interventions. (Estimated funding for Zambia: $43.6 million this year)
  
• CDC is involved in HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment, and infrastructure and capacity development, including support for the sentinel surveillance survey, improving care and treatment, and building monitoring and evaluation systems. (Estimated funding for Zambia: $10.1 million this year)
• The Department of Defense has supported efforts of the Zambian Defense Force to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the military, including the construction of a new laboratory at Maina Soko hospital. (Estimated funding for Zambia for 2003: $190,000)
  
• The Peace Corps Community Action for Health project includes HIV/AIDS prevention as a major emphasis.
  
• The U.S. Department of Defense, through the Defense Attaché Office in Lusaka, is renovating the Sisters of Charity orphanage and hospice in Kabwe. (Estimated funding: $400,000)
  
• The Department of State is managing approximately $11 million in HIV/AIDS interventions in 2004 to improve treatment, prevention and care.
• In addition, the U.S. government is leading the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; Zambia is one of the largest beneficiaries of this fund.
  

Health

• One of USAID's major objectives in Zambia is to improve the health of Zambians through improved maternal, child and reproductive health and prevention and treatment of malaria. Partners include the Government of Zambia and NGOs. (Estimated funding: $11.6 million per year)
•  CDC has improved Zambian reference laboratories, including the Chest Disease Laboratory for TB, and is working to improve TB treatment and monitoring. (Estimated funding for Zambia in 2003: $1 million)
• The Peace Corps' Community Action for Health project complements the Zambian government's effort to decentralize health care services to the community level, emphasizing preventive care.
  
• The U.S. Department of Defense, through the Defense Attaché Office in Lusaka, is renovating the Ndola Catholic Diocese Missionary Hospital. (Estimated funding: $70,000)
  
  

Education

• USAID supports the Zambian government's basic education initiative with the objective of improving the quality of basic education for more school children. (Estimated funding: $6.3 million per year)
• The Ambassador's Scholarship Program will enable 1,500 Zambian boys and girls to remain in school.
• Peace Corps volunteers working in alternative education provide learning opportunities to the most disadvantaged Zambian children through interactive radio instruction.
• The Embassy's Public Affairs Section (PAS) hosts and funds the Information Resource Center library, with over 2400 members. In addition, PAS sends about 15 Zambians a year to the U.S. to participate in International Visitor programs, and brings speakers from the U.S. to Zambia about 4 times a year. It also brings scholars from the U.S. to Zambia for longer stays, and sends Zambians to study in the U.S. on Humphrey and Fulbright Fellowships.
• The Defense Attaché Office provides books and education materials for both the Zambian Defense Force and civilian schools such as the City of Hope, Lusaka, Kazungula Primary School, Southern Province, and the Ngwenya Community School, Livingstone. The Department of Defense earlier provided funds for building this large school. (Estimated funding for Zambia in 2003/2004: $450,000)

Economic Growth

• USAID, through partners such as the Zambia Trade and Investment Enhancement project (ZAMTIE) and the Zambia Agribusiness Technical Assistance Center (ZATAC), works to increase incomes of selected rural groups and promote trade and investment. (Estimated funding: $7.75 million per year)
• Under the Peace Corps' Rural Aquaculture project, Peace Corps volunteers, in close collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, promote fish culture activities in rural farming communities to increase food security and provide cash incomes for fish farmers.
• Peace Corps volunteers also promote conservation of wildlife to enhance and sustain the economic benefits of tourism.
• The U.S. government is committed to forgive 100 percent of Zambia's bilateral debt when Zambia reaches the Highly Indebted Poor Country initiative completion point. In the interim, as a member of the Paris Club, the U.S. government has forgiven all payments of interest and principal on Zambia's half billion debt to the U.S. (Payments forgiven in 2003: $34 million)
• The U.S. Trade Development Agency has funded feasibility studies for projects in the mining and energy sectors; most recently, on September 29, 2003, TDA provided a grant for a study to extend the rail line from Malawi to Chipata. ($210,000)
• The U.S. Department of Agriculture, in partnership with USAID, has stationed an officer from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) in the southern African region to help countries complete requirements to export agricultural products to the United States.
• The State Department provided a $500,000 grant to Conservation International to support the development of Liuwa Plain National Park. The funds will be used to purchase vehicles, a radio system and other equipment that will directly enhance ZAWA's ability to manage the wildlife in the Park.
• The African Development Foundation is opening an office in Zambia and will fund projects to promote the development of farmer cooperatives, producer associations, and small and medium sized enterprises. (Estimated funding in 2004: $500,000)
• The U.S. department of Transport has provided the Ministry of Transportation and Communication with equipment, including computers, to set up a Technology Transfer Center.
• The U.S. Department of Defense, through the Defense Attaché Office in Lusaka, is drilling boreholes and paving roads for milk collection centers in Siaunzwe and Nangwezi in Southern Province. (Estimated funding: $80,000)
• The U.S. Department of Interior's U.S. geological Survey has provided equipment and operating funds to support the Geological Survey of the Zambian Ministry of Mines and Mineral Development. This equipment permits seismic monitoring at the Lusaka seismic station and remote stations in Petauke, Mansa, Kasempa and Isoka.
• The U.S Trade Representative, through funding to the World Trade Organization as well as bilateral and regional programs, provides capacity building to officials from the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry.
• The Embassy administers a Special Self Help Fund, which provides grants to 8 to 10 community sponsored projects each year. (Estimated funding for Zambia: $60,000 per year)
• In addition, the U.S. government provides assistance to Zambia through its funding of multilateral organizations, including the World Bank, U.N. agencies, the African Development Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Democracy and Governance
• USAID supports a variety of good governance programs and is a lead donor of the Parliamentary Reform Project. (Estimated funding: $2 million per year)
• The U.S. Department of Treasury's Office of Technical Assistance (OTA) has designated two officers to serve as long-term resident advisors in Zambia. One will be stationed at the Bank of Zambia to help the Bank improve bank supervision. The other will oversee anti-corruption programs. As part of this initiative, OTA is providing technical assistance and training to the Task Force on Corruption, the Bank of Zambia, the Ministry of Justice, the Anti-Corruption Commission and the Zambia National Tender Board. (Estimated funding in 2003/2004: $600,000)

Democracy and Human Rights

• The U.S. Department of Labor has provided grants to the International Labor Organization and both international and local NGOs for projects aimed at combating child labor in Zambia and improving labor administration. ($2.5 million awarded in 2002)
• Zambia is a target country for a new, $16 million Department of Labor program to promote educational opportunities for working and at-risk children, particularly those affected by HIV/AIDS.
  
• The Democracy and Human Rights Fund provides project grants annually; total funding of $125,000 for Zambia over the past year includes $50,000 for the Police Public Complaints Authority.
  
• The Department of Defense will provide $140,000 for training of Defense Inspectors General, deputy Inspectors General and Auditors to assist them in combating corruption and carrying out investigations. National Security
  
• The U.S. Department of Defense, through the Defense Attaché Office in Lusaka, provides education and training for members of the Zambian Defense Forces (estimated funding for Zambia: $250,000 per year) and has provided a $500,000 grant to help the Zambian Defense Force replace equipment lost during peacekeeping in Sierra Leone.
  
• The U.S. State Department has assisted the Government of Zambia, the U.N. High Commission for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration with funds for refugee programs, including repatriation. The U.S. was the first donor to provide funding ($1 million) for the Zambia Initiative, which supports development of both refugees and Zambian host communities.
  
• The State Department funds the International Law Enforcement Academy in Gaborone, Botswana. The ILEA has trained 158 Zambian law enforcement officials since April 2002.
  
• The State Department's Humanitarian De-mining has enabled the Zambian government to establish and operate the Zambia Mine Action Center (ZMAC) with the objective of making Zambia mine safe by 2005.
  
• The U.S. Department of Defense, through the Defense Attaché Office in Lusaka, donated office supplies, vehicles and equipment to the ZMAC in 2004 valued at $122,000.