Zambia to Dedicate New ‘Chifundo ART Clinic,’ a Free AIDS Treatment Clinic

The Honorable Jean Kapata, Mandevu Member of Parliament and the Tourism and Arts Minister for the Republic of Zambia, will cut the ribbon and help dedicate Chifundo a Clinic of Mercy, a new free state-of-the-art anti-retroviral therapy (ART) HIV/AIDS treatment clinic that is a collaboration between Zambia’s Ministry of Health and AHF Zambia, a country program of AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF). The ribbon cutting and dedication takes place Wednesday, 14 May 2014. Over two hundred honored guests, health centre staff and local residents are expected to attend the clinic ceremony. AHF Zambia’s Chifundo ART Clinic is located in the Ministry of Health’s Chaisa Health Centre in the Mandevu District of Lusaka, the capital of Zambia.

“It is a privilege to partner with the Ministry of Health and to take part in the dedication of the new Chifundo ART Clinic today”

WHO:

• The Honorable Jean Kapata, Mandevu Member of Parliament & Tourism and Arts Minister, Republic of Zambia
• Dr. Lawson Simapuka, Medical Director, AHF Zambia
• Victoria Kalota, Country Program Manager, AHF Zambia
• Chipasa Mbuzi, Laboratory Technologist in Charge, AHF Zambia
• Dr. Penninah Iutung Amor, Africa Bureau Chief for AIDS Healthcare Foundation
• Michael Weinstein, President of AIDS Healthcare Foundation

VISUALS:

• Tours of the new, state-of-the-art free AIDS treatment clinic, interview opportunities

Over one million Zambians are thought to be living with HIV/AIDS. Of those, about 350,000 individuals are currently on lifesaving antiretroviral treatment.

Chaisa compound is a densely populated area of Mandevu constituency in Lusaka with a population of more than seventy-thousand people. It has a high HIV/AIDS preference rate and the coming of Chifundo Clinic to this area is a blessing to the people of Chaisa and other surrounding areas. The organisation through its Clinic provides HIV treatment and care services to the community for free. AHF also has a mobile HIV Testing unit that goes into the community to conduct free HIV testing.

“It is a privilege to partner with the Ministry of Health and to take part in the dedication of the new Chifundo ART Clinic today,” said Dr. Lawson Simapuka, Medical Director for AHF Zambia. “This facility will offer free HIV testing, counseling, treatment and care—including the provision of antiretroviral treatment—mother & child health and general outpatient psychosocial support, as well as providing free condoms to the community. It is a much-needed resource, and one that we hope will go a long way in helping to address and combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Zambia.”

“The Government of the Republic of Zambia has prioritized making ART available to all Zambians in need. We are honored to share that mission with the government, and indeed all Zambians, as we dedicate and celebrate the opening of the Chifundo ART Clinic—the first site in Zambia that AHF has built from the ground up,” said Michael Weinstein, President of AIDS Healthcare Foundation. “The combination of commitment and expertise in clinical, public health and management skills that are essential for successful HIV treatment programs are brought together in this facility, which we envision as a touchstone of successful collaboration in the fight against AIDS in Zambia.”

“AHF’s first undertaking in Zambia came about in 2004 when we officially launched and dedicated the Salvation Army—AIDS Healthcare FoundationMuka Buumi clinic at the Chikankata Hospital located in Mazabuka District. Since then, AHF has conducted numerous HIV Medics training programs in the country, training individuals who work under medical supervision to assist in scaling-up ART services—an effort that may go a long way to help address the need for treatment in Zambia,” said Victoria Kalota, Country Program Manager, AHF Zambia.

“Our location in Chaisa, Lusaka is at one of the hot spots of the epidemic in Zambia. With a prevalence of over 20% throughout the whole Lusaka urban area, this clinic provides much needed hope for so many clients to receive quality services and presents a model of public – private partnerships in which complimentary efforts and pulling resources together has enabled us have this magnificent building that we dedicate today” said Dr. Penninah Iutung Amor, Africa Bureau Chief for AIDS Healthcare Foundation, who is based in Kampala, Uganda.

Of the thirty-four million people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide, twenty-four million people still do not have access to AIDS treatment. In response, in November 2013, AHF, together with a number of other organizations, kicked off ‘20×20’ – a groundbreaking global effort to scale up the number of people on lifesaving AIDS treatment to ensure that 20 million people worldwide are on antiretroviral treatment by the year 2020.

About AIDS Healthcare Foundation

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, currently provides medical care and/or services to over 300,000 individuals in 32 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region and Eastern Europe.

• website: www.aidshealth.org
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/aidshealth
• Twitter: @aidshealthcare

Contacts

ZAMBIA
AIDS Healthcare Foundation
Victoria Kalota
Country Program Manager, AHF Zambia
Tel: +260 211 846 365
Work Cell: +260 974 778 866
Cell: +260 978 778 468
[email protected]
or
UNITED STATES
AIDS Healthcare Foundation
Ged Kenslea
Senior Director, Communications
+.1.323.308.1833 work
+1.323.791.5526 cell
[email protected]