Alliance Zambia concert brings people together in Lusaka
01 June 2004
The International HIV/AIDS Alliance Zambia has successfully partnered with other organizations to raise awareness and achieve better support for community action on HIV/AIDS through a series of three open air HIV/AIDS concerts that attracted a crowd of more than 4,000 people. The concerts also provided information and access to voluntary counselling and testing services.
The three concerts were organized by the Alliance and UNICEF as part of an international symposium on gender-based violence and HIV/AIDS held in June. The symposium was organised by the Partnership against Gender-based and Sexual Violence against Women and Children, of which Alliance Zambia is a member.
The Alliance and UNICEF used the opportunity and hired local artists to raise awareness of voluntary counselling and testing through music, dance and the distribution of information.
Moreover, the Alliance and others partners in the VCT Partnership (Society for Family Health, Zambia VCT Services and Kara Counselling), which is supported by USAID, set up stalls and tents around the concert area to provide voluntary counselling and testing services and to inform people about VCT. Around 200 people were given counselling and tested during the events.
In addition, the Alliance has joined a consortium of organisations working with the Zambian Government to implement the USAID-funded Zambia Health Communications Programme (HCP) in the areas of reproductive health, safe motherhood, child survival, malaria and HIV/AIDS.
