With the assistance of PC Volunteers funded in FY 2005 and FY 2006, local communities have organized

HIV/AIDS youth awareness sports camps, helped form anti-AIDS clubs, and set up youth friendly corners

and support groups for PLWHA. They have trained service providers and CBOs on using PC's Participatory

Community Analysis tools, and assisted in developing income generating activities for OVC and PLWA.

Building on its PEPFAR-funded achievements of the past three fiscal years, PC/Z will continue to improve

the capacity of communities to mitigate HIV/AIDS and ensure the sustainability of activities. Volunteers and

their counterparts will provide support to community groups in developing effective community responses to

HIV/AIDS through training in HIV/AIDS, AB prevention, fundraising and community outreach. They will also

mobilize community leaders and groups capable of influencing local norms and values to help amplify those

compatible with HIV prevention while discouraging those that are not. Because most Volunteers live and

work for two years in the same community and communicate in the local language, they develop a unique

trust with the community and are often approached for advice and technical assistance, especially by

women and youth. These populations are specific targets of the Volunteers' work.

Placement of Volunteers at this level makes them well placed to see how well programs and services are

reaching the communities and as such they are a great resource for providing insights on the effectiveness

of certain services as well as community perceptions and responses to them. Various strategies will be

employed to ensure this vital experience and insight is shared with the rest of the USG team e.g. through

meetings with Volunteers when they are in Lusaka for different activities as well as meetings with

Volunteers when USG team members visit district sites.

Operationally, PC/Z will continue to focus its PEPFAR program on the following three levels of intervention

in FY 2008.

First, 22 two-year Volunteers funded in FY 2007 and 17 Volunteers funded under the FY 2006 COP will

concentrate their HIV/AIDS activities in remote villages not typically served by other PEPFAR-funded

partners. Volunteers will assist rural health centers and Neighborhood Health Committees (NHC), providing

leadership and promoting networking among communities. Volunteers will be strategically located within 30

km of a mobile or static HIV counseling and testing site to facilitate linkages to these services.

Second, PC/Z will recruit 15 PEPFAR-funded Volunteers, with strong HIV/AIDS field experience and more

advanced technical skills, for one-year assignments. These will either be Crisis Corps Volunteers (former

PC Volunteers with specialized skills) or current high-performing Volunteers who will extend their service for

a third year. This proved successful in the previous year and the number of current Volunteers choosing to

extend their service for a third year increased due to the introduction of HIV/AIDS training for all Volunteers

and the support from an Advisory group with representation from different USG agencies that has been

supporting the linkages. The Volunteers will be placed with PEPFAR-funded organizations at the district

level or in secondary cities to help build capacity in the area of AB prevention. For FY 2008, PC/Z will place

more than one Volunteer with government and other PEPFAR funded organizations covering multiple

districts.

Third, in partnership with Government and PEPFAR-funded organizations, PC/Z will train 120 two-year

Peace Corps-funded Volunteers, whose current projects do not directly relate to HIV/AIDS, and provide

them with materials on HIV/AIDS so they can incorporate prevention themes into their work. Introduced in

FY 2007, this activity will expand the reach of HIV/AIDS prevention work within the communities served by

PC/Z as well as fully integrate HIV/AIDS programming within all PC/Z projects. To ensure sustainability of

the program, all Volunteers will continue to be trained together with their counterparts from their

communities. The trainings will be conducted in partnership with Government and other PEPFAR funded

organizations to ensure consistent messaging as well as strengthen capacity for networking and

collaboration at this level.

When conducting community-based training, Volunteers will follow the Peace Corps Life Skills Manual,

which has been used successfully by Peace Corps Volunteers worldwide since 2000 as well as other AB

tools and materials being used by Government and other PEPFAR partners. Training sessions on

HIV/AIDS, STIs and reproductive health are integrated appropriately for different age groups and target

audiences.

Volunteers will continue to work with their Zambian counterparts to disseminate accurate and culturally age-

appropriate AB messages to in-school youth, out-of-school youth and other community members.

Volunteers will reach out-of-school youth primarily through community health centers by working with health

center staff to train peer educators and establish youth-friendly corners where approved prevention

messages may be discussed and materials disseminated. Programs within schools, Anti-AIDS clubs and

sports groups will increase work with boys to address norms of male behaviors that place them and girls at

risk of HIV infection.

Banafimbusa and traditional initiators who instruct girls on marriage customs and values provide an

important component of reproductive heath education at the village level in Zambia. Volunteers and their

counterparts will continue to provide workshops and coaching to Banafimbusa and traditional initiators on

how to facilitate discussions with youth on abstinence and being faithful.

In FY 2008, PC/Z will continue to manage its Volunteer Activities Support and Training (VAST) program,

which enables communities to carry out small projects, training and educational events related to AB

prevention. All Zambia Peace Corps Volunteers will be eligible to request VAST grants for purposes

approved in the COP.

PC/Z will procure and, when necessary, produce prevention training and other materials in local languages.

Where available, PC/Z will reproduce materials developed by other USG partners and will ensure that all

PEPFAR-funded materials are consistent with USG and host country policies and guidance.

To determine appropriate interventions, Volunteers conduct initial needs assessment at their sites and pre

and post-tests to evaluate the success of their community activities.

To support Volunteers' AB prevention activities in the field, salary and other benefits of the following

Activity Narrative: programming, training and other staff positions will be funded through PEPFAR:

Program Manager (current position)

Condoms and Other Prevention was an area Peace Corps/Zambia (PC/Z) started working in FY 2007. It

was a natural extension of PC/Z's PEPFAR experience conducting AB prevention activities at the

community level in FY 2005 and FY 2006.

The work of PC/Z will continue to contribute to the US Mission's Five-Year Strategy by being closely

aligned to the Zambian Government's strategies and by strengthening partner organizations to contribute to

the 2-7-10 goals.

In FY 2008, PC/Z will continue community-based training and other outreach efforts that target sexually

active youth, adults and other "most at risk populations" with other prevention messages in accordance with

PEPFAR ABC Guidance. PC Volunteers ("Volunteers") also will assist rural communities to build their

capacity to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS in a sustainable manner and in alignment with the Zambia's

National HIV/AIDS Strategy under the National AIDS Council and the Ministry of Health.

Because most Volunteers live and work for two years in the same community and communicate in the local

language, they develop a unique trust with the community and are often approached for advice and

technical assistance, especially by women and youth. Therefore, these populations will be specific targets

of Volunteers' work.

Operationally, PC/Z's PEPFAR program will focus on the following three levels of intervention.

First, 22 two-year Volunteers funded under this COP and 16 Volunteers funded under the FY 2006 COP will

concentrate their HIV/AIDS activities in remote villages not typically served by other PEPFAR-funded

partners. Volunteers will work with rural health centers and Neighborhood Health Committees (NHC),

providing leadership as well as promoting networking among communities, rural health centers, District

AIDS Task Force and District Health Management Boards in the area of Other prevention. Volunteers will

be strategically located within 30 km of a mobile or static HIV counseling and testing site to facilitate

linkages to HIV/AIDS services, including referrals for HIV testing and condom distribution.

Second, PC/Z will recruit 10 PEPFAR-funded Volunteers, with strong HIV/AIDS field experience and more

advanced technical skills, for one-year assignments. These will either be Crisis Corps Volunteers (former

PC Volunteers with specialized skills), or current high-performing Volunteers who will extend their service

for a third year. This proved successful in the previous year and the number of current Volunteers choosing

to extend their service for a third year increased due to the introduction of HIV/AIDS training for all

Volunteers and support from the PEPFAR team in linking them with organizations. The Volunteers will be

placed with organizations at the district level or in secondary cities to help build capacity in Other

prevention. For FY 2008 PC/Z will place more than one Volunteer with government and other PEPFAR

funded organizations covering multiple districts.

Third, in partnership with Government and PEPFAR-funded organizations, PC/Z will train 120 two-year

Peace Corps-funded Volunteers, whose current projects do not directly relate to HIV/AIDS, and provide

them with materials on HIV/AIDS so they can incorporate prevention themes into their work. Introduced in

FY 2007, this activity will expand the reach of HIV/AIDS prevention work within the communities served by

PC/Z as well as fully integrate HIV/AIDS programming within all PC/Z projects. To ensure sustainability of

the program, all Volunteers will continue to be trained together with their counterparts from their

communities. The trainings will be conducted in partnership with Government and other PEPFAR funded

organizations to ensure consistent messaging as well as strengthen capacity for networking and

collaboration at this level.

When conducting community-based training, Volunteers will follow the Peace Corps Life Skills Manual,

which has been used successfully by Peace Corps Volunteers worldwide since 2000. Training sessions on

HIV/AIDS, STIs and reproductive health will be integrated appropriately for different age groups and target

audiences.

Volunteers will continue to reach sexually active youth through community health centers by working with

staff to train peer educators and to establish "youth-friendly corners." This has proved an effective way to

promote prevention messages, disseminate materials, and when appropriate, provide information on the

correct use of condoms to sexually active youth in a conducive environment and format.

Banafimbusa and traditional initiators who instruct girls on marriage customs and values provide an

important component of reproductive heath education at the village level in Zambia. They hold a strong

influence over youth, and thus it is important that they have access to training and information on HIV/AIDS.

Volunteers and their counterparts will continue to provide workshops and coaching to Banafimbusa and

traditional initiators on how to facilitate discussions with youth to encourage safer sexual practices through

abstinence, being faithful, and when appropriate, correct and consistent use of condoms. Use of condoms

after marriage for discordant couples will also be emphasized, along with the importance of testing and

counseling.

In FY 2008, PC/Z will continue to manage its Volunteer Activities Support and Training (VAST) program,

which enables communities to carry out small projects, training and educational events related to condoms

and other prevention. All Zambia Peace Corps Volunteers will be eligible to request VAST grants for

purposes approved in the COP.

PC/Z will continue to procure and, when necessary, produce prevention training and other materials in local

languages. Where available, PC/Z will reproduce materials developed by other USG partners and will

ensure that all PEPFAR-funded materials are consistent with USG and host country policies and guidance.

In addition, PC/Z will take advantage of the in-country expertise of other USG partners, particularly for the

training of Volunteers.

To determine appropriate interventions, Volunteers conduct initial needs assessment at their sites and pre

and post-tests to evaluate the success of their community activities.

As a part of the USG/Zambia PEPFAR Team, Peace Corps/Zambia contributes uniquely to the HIV/AIDS

response by placing experienced Peace Corps volunteers with PEPFAR implementing partners and other

national coordination structures to support overall institutional capacity building. The Peace Corps program

has grown to be an essential link to the rural communities as well as critical resource to help ameliorate the

severe human resource crisis in Zambia. Complementing the United Nations supported Volunteer program

at National AIDS Council, Peace Corps will place third year extension and/or Peace Corps Response

Volunteers to enhance organizational capacity. Experienced volunteers will work on strengthening this key

coordinating institution and others to ensure that they provide services that are essential to the national

response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Volunteers will work on strengthening the coordination of the various

programs at provincial levels as well as Monitoring and Evaluation of the response. Volunteers will have

previous experience working at the village and community level on HIV/AIDS issues, which equips them

with valuable insights for planning effective programs and enabling them to work effectively within the

Zambian context.

Peace Corps/Zambia (PC/Z) serves as both a USG PEPFAR partner and an implementing partner, with

programs in AB Prevention and Other Prevention Activities. PC/Z's Management and Staffing pillar

includes the salary, benefits, anticipated travel and training costs for three full-time contract staff that

support Volunteers working in these two program areas. The Management and Staffing structure is broken

down as follows:

PEPFAR Director (current position) -The Director manages the technical, programmatic, and administrative

aspects of the PC/Z PEPFAR program. This includes developing and overseeing activities approved in the

Country Operating Plan (COP); managing PC/Z staff responsible for Volunteer training, placement and

support; ensuring quality data collection and reporting; monitoring the budget; and participating fully as

PC/Z's technical representative to the USG Zambia PEPFAR team.

Administrative Assistant (current position) - The Administrative Assistant works with PC/Z's Administrative

Officer on all PEPFAR-related administrative tasks, particularly budget and finance functions.

Medical Officer (current position) - The Medical Officer is responsible for providing health care to the

Volunteers funded by PEPFAR.

Driver - The driver is responsible for providing support to the team, volunteers, and the program.