03/10/2026
Community insights are helping shape stronger HIV prevention choices on the Copperbelt.
Led by Copperbelt Provincial Health Director Dr. Charles Mwinuna, a dissemination meeting held in Ndola brought partners together to review progress, impact and lessons from community-led demand creation for Lenacapavir (LEN) and other PrEP options across six Copperbelt districts.
Coalition Health Zambia (CHZ), in collaboration with the Copperbelt Provincial Health Office, shared results from activities implemented between May and September 2026 under the Controlling HIV Epidemic Project (CHEP), with CIDRZ as the prime partner and funding from the U.S. Government.
Through community dialogues, small-group and youth sessions, outreach and referrals, the intervention reached over 30,000 people with HIV prevention information and supported linkages to PrEP services. Across the six supported districts, 5,957 PrEP initiations were reported, including 1,527 LEN initiations, expanding access to long-acting injectable HIV prevention.
The meeting brought together the CIDRZ CHEP technical team led by Chief of Party Dr. Maurice Musheke, the U.S. Government team led by Department of State, Senior Public Health Advisor Musonda Musonda, and the CHZ technical team led by Chief Technical Director Dr. Maureen Simwenda.
Beyond the numbers, community insights highlighted questions, misconceptions and information needs influencing HIV prevention choices. These lessons are helping make prevention communication less medical, more relatable and responsive to people’s needs, while promoting informed choice across LEN and other PrEP options.