DO ALL HAVE GIFTS OF HEALING?

As Zambia continues to reduce its HIV/AIDS rate and improves on its diagnosis, treatment and care, there has been, however, a worrying increase in the number of defaulters - people with HIV/AIDS who have stopped taking their medication. Zambian newspapers have carried reports of a worrying trend amongst some mainly self-styled and self-appointed preachers claiming to be able to cure HIV/AIDS and after praying for healing, telling followers to stop taking medication or even to burn it to prove their faith, so that God will heal them. See Report on ThinkAfricaPress site.

Throughout Africa, the Church is growing and Pentecostalism in particular has exploded. Unfortunately, alongside it, so too, has a non-affiliated, almost cult-type, of quasi-charismatic-pentecostalism with its emphasis on the 'prosperity gospel',  'health-and-wealth gospel' and the 'faith gospel' - which claims faith and donations will be rewarded by God here on earth. The idea is that God wants to bless his followers, and that these blessings can be 'unlocked' through prayer and by demonstrations of faith, which giving large sums of money as an offering to the church. This dogma smacks of the return to indulgences and clerical rapacity to my rather orthodox reformed mind.

The preachers in question are so-called prophets “anointed by God”, making them untouchable and unchallengeable to their mainly poorly educated and discipled congregations, so that any doubt, complaint or criticism against the preacher is a hand raised against God. Telly-evangelism has much to do with the growth of this ‘prosperity gospel’. In Zambia we have Trinity Broadcasting, One Gospel and Rhema, Real Christian TV that are widely watched, since they are free and an alternative to the State-Broadcaster. These channels broadcast programmes 24/7 with an over-emphasis on giving and then receiving ten-fold, healing miracles and exorcisms.

The TV evangelists from these stations have become celebrities in Zambia, attracting followers because of their fame, fortunes, influence and life-styles and clergy from all denominations try to emulate them, also in their style of preaching and praying. For many a career in the Church is such, it is not a calling but the road to status, professional and economic advancement. A Kenyan source reports that over 90% of Kenyan clergy have no call at all. They became ministers because a better career could not be found elsewhere.

What then should be the response?  Those who claim to be healed need to be retested, restart medication if necessary and find an HIV-competent and supportive Church. Some patients will still say the machines are lying or have been told by preachers that they simply did not pray hard enough or give a large enough offering to the church, so they refuse to go for re-testing.

Destroying ARVs is illegal and can lead to arrest and imprisonment. Surely encouraging HIV+ people to stop taking life-saving medicine is a form of murder? But people are reluctant to speak out against 'men of God'.

Community-based education regarding HIV/AIDS by health workers who provide home-based care, regular visits and the formation of support groups is being piloted. The Zambian media both print and broadcasting have a duty to raise awareness and warn of these "merchants of death" in churches.

Another initiative being tried is with the District AIDS Task Forces and Ministry of Health, engaging with church leaders to discuss healing and the Bible in a non-confrontational way.

In a Choma Church every Sunday before the Preaching of the Word, the preacher makes the following announcement. "There is not, and has never been, a cure for AIDS. If you are HIV positive, you can take medication called ARVs... Some people claim to have found the cure for AIDS and they want to sell it to you. It is not true. If you are HIV positive, take ARVs."

This article is in no way belittling those who stress that healing is part of the fullness of the blessing of the Gospel of Christ. This can be clearly seen in the lives of ordinary but godly people, as well as in more prominent Christians honoured by God. But I also know, having myself prayed earnestly and believingly for a dear friend, that special healing will not always be granted but that God’s will shall be done. Even St Paul prayed three times for the thorn to be removed but was told to glory in his infirmity. This is an equally authentic Christian testimony as are the signs and wonders accompanying the Ministry of the Word. We need to pray for a spirit of discernment for believers to be able to judge rightly between the true and the false, and seek to be like those who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. (Heb5:15)

All Creatures That Grate and Pall!

People often ask us about the various creepie-crawlies and mini-beasties you come across here.



At this time of year during the annual inundation, the insect life here is prolific and as the water level rises and more holes, burrows, mounds and tunnels become flooded, high and dry real estate becomes a premium for all creation. So at this time you learn to share terra firma with a myriad of etymological refugees.



At the moment we are being plagued by ants. I am afraid it got so bad we blotted our green credentials by going out and buying Termodan spray to evict and extirpate the persistent columns of ants and their soldiers who were seeking refuge in our kitchen, dining-room and office, making it impossible to stand, sit or work there.



The ants quickly covered any available surface and gave any exposed human flesh a sharp and irritating nip. Since applying the spray, each morning we swept out the debris of ant corpses which looked like heaps of spilt coffee-grinds. It is now bliss, typing this, as my bare feet no longer have to be kept lifted to keep them out of the way of the marauding ants on safari underneath the desk.



Two trivial ant facts:

1. What people call ants eggs are usually the silk cocoons containing a chrysalis. The eggs are pinhead size white and shiny and found in bunches.

2. There can be more than a dozen queens in a large nest. They don’t fight or kill each other as bees do.



Another war we constantly wage is against the ravenous regiments of the wrongly named white ant. They are actually neither white nor ants but termites with soft bodies and no narrow waist like true ants. As a rule their food is wood and they do great damage by eating holes, galleries and trenches in the furniture and floors. They are not averse to books either. They are certainly industriously destructive as they cover the object they covet with a clay and saliva shell, gradually enlarging this and finally engulfing the object with termite clay, if left to their own devices.



The workers and soldiers are blind and stunted by their diet, but other brothers and sisters are fed on richer food and become kings and queens of new nests. Now, when the weather is warm and just after a heavy shower of rain, these winged termites leave the nest and fly up into the air on their nuptial flight. When they land they shed their wings and look for a place for a new nest.



These are the inswa that people in Central Africa gather and roast as relish, after they have already run the gauntlet of birds, frogs and lizards. It is reckoned only one in 10 000 survive and succeed in starting a new colony, for which we should be thankful.



Last week on our weekly trip to Livingstone our car was engulfed at Sikaunzwe by a massive swarm of ephemeroptera, known as mayflies. The high grey cloud stretched for at least 4 kilometres along the road. The car was so thickly covered by the dead insects that we needed to have it washed in Livingstone. Sikaunzwe is another area bisected by rivers, a low-lying fertile floodplain. It is a day’s march from Mwandi and where Livingstone spent his first night on the way to the Falls.



These tiny white insects are only about 5mm in length and have two pairs of wings and two tail filaments at the end of their abdomen. They do not feed and only live for a few hours, hence their name. Their only function is to mate and then lay their eggs. The eggs are laid in the water and the larvae live for a long time, feeding on decaying animal and plant matter on the waterbed. They are interesting in that they emerge in a pre-adult stage and then moult into the true imago. Sikaunzwe is a good spot to fish at the moment especially for lindombe (catfish), obviously the larvae must be an important element in the diet of local fish.



In contrast to the mayfly, the cicada is one of the longest-living insects. You hear the loud shrill love song of the male all the time here during the hot summer months during the hot noonday hours and in the still, warm nights. It can be almost deafening at times



The cicada has a long beak which it uses to pierce tree-bark to feed on tree sap. He does not make the racket by rubbing his hind legs or wings like a grasshopper or cricket. He has a pair of drums on his body just behind his back legs. He uses the rapid movement of certain muscles to vibrate the drums. The male enjoys six weeks feasting and singing before he dies.



Tuesday was Woman’s Day and I have been undergoing a gender sensitization process since then so now let me deal with the female cicada. Before dying she lays her eggs in the bark of trees. After a few weeks the eggs hatch, the offspring are similar to the adults but lack wings but are equipped with thick strong front legs and blunt teeth for digging. They drop to earth and burrow into the ground and feed off sap in roots. Depending on the type cicadas spend anything from 2 to15 years underground. After that they crawl to the surface, climb a tree and split their skin. The adult emerges and flies away.



Oh, I forgot to say only the male can sing, the female is completely silent.

As Xenophon put it over 2000 years ago:

“Happy are the cicadas’ lives,

For they are blessed with voiceless wives.”

Sugar, Sugar….

When we drive to Lusaka, about 6 hours after leaving Mwandi, we pass through Mazabuka, about 140km away from Lusaka. Mazabuka is the sweetest town in Zambia, according to the billboards advertising the Zambia Sugar’s plantation, where most of Zambia’s sugar is grown and for Associated British Food shareholders it is indeed a sweet place!

The Guardian (link:http://www.guardian.co.u k/business/2013/feb/09/british-sugar-giant-tax-scandal) has revealed that the multi-national, FTSE 100 company, Associated British Foods that produces Silver Spoon Sugar, Twinnings Tea and Kingsmill Bread is avoiding paying tax in Zambia by remitting most of their profit abroad. Zambia Sugar (Illovo), is the local subsidiary here. A report from ActionAid “Tax Justice” reveals that Zambian Sugar boasted it paid virtually no corporation tax to the Zambian Revenue Authority, it actually paid less than 0.5% of its $123m pre-tax profits in corporation tax between 2007 and 2012. Zambia Sugar, however, has recently posted record pre-tax profits and its plantation has doubled its capacity over the same period to produce sugar for markets in Europe and Africa.

The company benefits from capital allowance and tax-relief schemes in Zambia, but still, almost one third of its pre-tax profits are remitted to Ireland, Mauritius and the Netherlands. There are sister companies in these tax havens, some with no employees, which means the ZRA cannot even charge their normal tax on money leaving the country. These allowances and tax-relief schemes were granted to it by the ZRA to finance its expansion. They even obtained one by taking the Zambian government to court. Apparently, according to the firm, these payments made to overseas companies, are largely for ‘historical reasons’, (read neo-colonialism) and are not driven by tax considerations.

Ironically, it is estimated that this form of tax avoidance in Zambia amounts to a sum 14 times larger than that which the UK provided in aid to Zambia to combat hunger and improve food security. 45% of Zambian children suffer from chronic malnutrition. Globally, the total loss to Treasuries in the less developed world through tax avoidance by multinationals in is estimated to be around GBP70bn a year. This, if targeted properly, it is reckoned, could save the lives annually of 85,000 children under the age of five in the world’s poorest countries. .And yet, Associated British Foods have gone to great lengths to ensure it pays virtually no corporation tax in an impoverished country. There are also other transactions done that reduce Zambia Sugar’s taxable profit and other taxes that are usually paid to the ZRA on payments made abroad.

Of course, the Company denies it doing anything illegal or immoral by reducing the tax it is due to the Zambian government. It claims GBP150m has been invested and 5000 jobs created and the allowances on this investment mean no company tax is due. They say they are merely enjoying the tax-holiday designed to attract investors!

God’s principles concerning fair trade, fair dealing and right relationships are clear in this situation. The Old Testament Law demands that justice is seen to be done and the rights of the poor are safe-guarded to prevent a downward spiral of poverty. Amos clearly condemns the use of dishonest scales, skimping measures or selling sweepings as wheat.

This is another clear case of the world trading system working for the rich and powerful. Associated British Food through Zambia Sugar has almost a monopoly in the Zambian sugar market and is able to call the tune to the disadvantage of the ZRA and Zambian Government.

In the story of Lazarus, the rich man is condemned because he did nothing to change the situation. Jesus condemns exploitative and uncaring relationships between the rich and the poor. James too highlights the luxury and self-indulgence of the rich at the expense of the poor and suggests that we should treat others in the way we would want God to treat us.

This is an unjust situation which is causing oppression and is giving an unfair advantage to a special group. The present Zambia Sugar Trading Organisation needs recreation and transformation in order to be a system that deals fairly with others and encourages right relationships.



Road Carnage

Zambia has just experienced one of its worst road traffic accidents ever. On Thursday morning 51 passengers aboard a Post Services Bus, travelling from Ndola to Lusaka were killed on the spot in a horrific head-on collision at Chibombo about an hour’s drive North of Lusaka, when the bus and a truck hit each other. Three days of national mourning have been declared and the Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) says the church will hold prayers for the wellbeing of the nation because Zambia cannot afford to distance itself from God.

CCZ general secretary Suzanne Matale said the country needed prayers in such hard and trying moments and needed God’s intervention now more than ever before. It was important for all churches in the country to pray for the nation and especially for the families who have lost loved ones in these tragic circumstances.

MWANDI, SESHEKE AND LIVINGSTONE

2013 is the 200^th Anniversary of the birth of David Livingstone and this event is being commemorated and celebrated in both Scotland and Zambia as well as elsewhere.

The community here, in Mwandi, are well aware of Livingstone, his travels and his local connection. He was a visitor to Mwandi, then called Sesheke, and the surrounding area, on several occasions. Mwandi was called Sesheke up until 1945 when the District’s administrative headquarters were moved 70km upstream to (New) Sesheke. Earlier this month it was officially announced that Mwandi would be one of the new Districts formed in Western Province. 

Livingstone’s association with the Mwandi area stretches back to 1851; 33 years before the arrival of the Paris Missionary Society Missionaries, sent by the Church of Lesotho to evangelise Barotseland. The Paris Mission were the founders of the present-day UCZ Mwandi Mission, the oldest Mission Station in the country. So, in Scottish terms Mwandi can be seen as a Zambian Iona or Whithorn.

In his book ‘Travels and Researches in South Africa’, Livingstone writes about Sesheke, meaning (Silver Sands)  in June 1851 when he and Mr Oswell proceed the 130 miles, after Sebitwane’s death, north east to Sesheke. Though we learn Sebitwane had earlier come down from Naliele, the capital, via Sesheke to Chobe to meet him. Sebitwane was the Sotho Chief who brought the Makalolo to the Zambezi during the Mfecane.

Livingstone and Oswell arrive in the dry season but they are impressed by the breadth and depth to the flow of the Zambezi, a magnificent portion of river, he calls it. It is at this time he decides to stop putting his family at risk from the dangers and from fever and to send them back to Europe.  On another occasion he mentions the corpse of a lion on the Zambezi near Sesheke that had been killed by a buffalo.

Livingstone’s diary of 20 September 1853 records him reaching Sesheke by canoe on his return from exploring the Northern Zambezi. This was another visit to the Mwandi area. He then left with Sekeletu, Sebitwane’s son, the new Makololo King for Linyanti, to discuss the possibility of an expedition to the Atlantic Coast at Luanda in Angola.

The diary entry for 19 November 1853 mentions his arrival back at Sesheke, the residence of Chief Moliantsane, brother-in-law to Sekeletu. Livingstone gives an interesting description of the town and some amusing anecdotes.

He tells of a Lozi being tied up as punishment for spearing a Makalolo’s ox. The accused’s mother arrived, armed with her hoe, and released her son, threatening to strike anyone who dared to interfere.

This entry also mentions that on the river bank under an acacia (camel-thorn) which gave shade to the Kuta (the local customary court), Livingstone gave his first public address in the presence of 500-600 souls. This, therefore, was the first recorded preaching of the Gospel on the North Bank of the Zambezi and at Mwandi no less!

He also mentions the difficulty he had with his voice in addressing such a large assembly of people. Again keeping the attention of the congregation is not always easy for a preacher. Moliantsane spotted some young fellows working with a skin instead of listening to the sermon, so he stood up and hurled his staff at them to bring back their wandering attention!

There is an old tree outside the present Church which is referred to as ‘Livingstone’s Tree’. It was in this area that he apparently camped. Livingstone gives the position of Sesheke as Latitude 17 degrees 31’ 38” South and Longitude 25 degrees 13’ East. I have checked this with a GPS and the Northing is spot-on but the Easting is a bit out. Older members of the congregation have pointed out the area where it is believed he preached.

The entry of 17^th December 1853 mentions the prodigious number of alligators(sic) found in the river at Sesheke and their savagery in carrying off so many children each year. This happens frequently he suggests because children are tempted to play at the river whilst down at the edge to draw water . It is a similar story with calves as the cattle swim across to and from the island pastures. Unfortunately even today crocodile attacks are an all too common occurrence at Mwandi.

Sesheke is not mentioned again until 22^nd August 1855 after Livingstone’s return from Angola. It is the end of winter and he describes the beauty of the scenery as the trees are beginning to bud and blossom. The atmosphere has a murky, smoky tinge from the burning grass. The group wait in Sesheke for the horses to arrive from Linyanti.

The final mention of Sesheke is on 3 November 1855 as Livingstone makes his final preparations for setting off for the Victoria Falls - also called Mosi oa Tunya and Shongwe in the entry - and his journey to the East. He is most grateful to Sekeletu for his parting gifts. Livingstone receives 12 oxen, hoes and beads to purchase a canoe and butter and honey. Livingstone appreciated this generosity as all the goods he had brought with him to barter with had gone and he was left with nothing.

It is interesting to note that at Independence most colonial names of towns and places were changed and replaced by indigenous names; but names associated with Livingstone were left largely untouched, such was the respect and affection he was held in. In a further confusing twist with the names of Livingstone and Mwandi - a new Western suburb in Livingstone has been named Mwandi. You can often see in the distance the zinc roofs shining in the sun as you come into town along the Nakatindi Road. Some German visitors who were planning to visit us asked for directions to Mwandi and spent the afternoon on a fruitless search for Mwandi Mission amongst the streets of the new suburb! Who knows but maybe in the New Mwandi District there may be a future suburb named Livingstone!

BANKING ON THE NEW YEAR

A good New Year to one and all! As a Mission Partner you are expected to turn your hand to many things. We have been busy recently compiling our annual financial reports. Reading Fergus Macpherson’s “North of the Zambezi”, you realize how little things have in essence changed in 70 years. On arrival in Mufulira in 1946, shortly before Christmas, he was presented with 3 tomes - “There you are, your cash book, your ledger and your journal!”

Macpherson had operated a cashbook before at an Edinburgh Boy’s Club, but the word ledger had, and still has, a faint sulphuric tang of Scrooge about it and he had copies of David Livingstone’s Last Journals in his books. This task is often overlooked in the tales of Mission you hear, or the dreams you have of the work.

In an earlier blog this year we mentioned the fact that many Zambians, since banks were closed to them,  were being forced to borrow money from private microfinance companies who were little more than legalized loan-sharks at exorbitant interest rates. A number of hospital workers and school colleagues had got themselves into trouble by these rapacious pay-day predators. They are called often ‘caterpillars’ here., because of the rate at which they ‘eat’ your money and the destruction they cause.

The good news is the Bank of Zambia has now introduced a cap on the effective annual lending interest rates that licensed non-bank financial institutions can charge their customers. A similar recent measure was introduced for commercial banks as well. This has been done to make borrowing more affordable and equitable especially to the more vulnerable micro-borrowers. The maximum effective annual lending interest rate for them should not exceed 42%. The rate for other non-bank financial institutions should not exceed 30%. These caps had been arrived at by multiplying the commercial bank rate of 18.25% by agreed factors. These rates would be revised periodically in response to the prevailing financial climate.

Hogmanay was a bank-holiday in Zambia this year, as staff prepared for the first day of the rebased Kwacha. A series of new bank notes and coins have been introduced bringing the value of the Kwacha in line with neighbouring countries. Three zeros have been removed from present denominations.

The Kwacha is subdivided into 100 ngwee. The Zambian Kwacha is one of the most stable currencies in Africa. Kwacha and ngwee come from the Nyanja words for “dawn” and “bright” respectively.

In 1968 four years after Independence, the Kwacha was introduced at the rate of ZMK2:GBP1 and ZMK1.20:US$1.00 During the late eighties and early nineties in the severe economic crisis, the currency suffered from very high inflation and by 2006, the exchange rate was ZMK4800 to US$1.00. Throughout 2012 it has remained around ZMK5000:$1.00

The new rebased currency appeared from ATMs on New Year’s Day, 1 January 2013 with the new Zambian Kwacha being introduced at a rate of 1000 old Kwacha = 1 New Kwacha. The old notes will remain legal tender alongside the new kwacha notes until the end of June. New coins have also been introduced for 5, 10, 50 Ngwee and 1 Kwacha. 

During the period of the UNIP one-party state all coins and banknotes depicted President Kenneth Kaunda on the front and Zambian flora and fauna on the back.

With inflation and the Movement of Multiparty Democracy winning the election in 1991, 100 and 500 kwacha notes were introduced, followed by 1000, 5000 and 10,000 kwacha in 1992, and a decade later in 2003, 20,000 and 50,000 kwacha notes were introduced.

These notes all feature our national bird, the fish eagle, on front and on the back you find the Freedom Statue of the Zambian breaking his chains. As an aside, Zambia also became the first African country to issue polymer notes made in Canada . The 500 and 1000 kwacha were both printed on polymer. You still find the old green K20 note, which some people have as a keepsake in their purse or wallet. Below are images of the new notes and coins.

Some new exchange rates:

US$1.00                      ZMK5.2

GBP1.00                     ZMK8.3

EUR1.00                     ZMK6.7

ZAR1.00                     ZMK0.60 (60Ngwee)

PULA1.00                   ZMK0.64 (64Ngwee)

CNY1.00                     ZMK0.81 (81Ngwee)

AED1.00                     ZMK1.4

The Close of the Year 2012

The Close of the Year 2012

After two weeks of sporadic shortages of mealie meal, our staple, as Government and millers negotiated over price, some millers have finally agreed to print a recommended retail price on bags (K50 000/GBP6/US$10). It is surprising that Zambian Governments in a less developed country have not been more statist on this, as France only decontrolled the price of bread a little over a decade ago.

This measure has been achieved by appealing to milling companies to reduce their prices after a sharp rise recently. The floor price for the purchase Food Reserve Agency maize was K65 000 for 50kg, this was sold on to the millers for K60 000, in effect a K5 000 subsidy. 

This is another pro-poor policy which contrasts with the austerity programme and attack on universalism by neo-liberal governments in the more developed world. Zambia has managed to attain a growth rate of 7% up from 6% last year.

Substantial investment has been made in the country’s infrastructure, with shovel ready projects, in education, health and mining sectors, while inflation is kept reasonably low. No either/or but both here!!

This positive and continuous improvement has led to some improved social and economic development.

Finally the country has been plagued by an infestation of army worms in many places which could compromise food security if left undealt with. Army worms, also known as cut worms, travel in armies and consume newly germinated maize and grass. Cypermethrin is apparently the spray of choice.

Armyworms and cutworms are actually caterpillars or immature moths that feed on grass leaves and stems, chewing off young plants just above the ground. Mature females moths then lay eggs, on grass which the hatched caterpillars feed on. From the TV pictures seen, it looks quite like the variegated cutworm but I have not heard an etymologic identification made.

The larvae were dark brown in color with yellow stripes. The adult moths were yellowish-brown with black dots along the wings. Mated females can lay more than 1200 eggs in less than 10 days, and eggs are generally attached to the leaf blades or weeds plants. The pupae hibernate and the insect can produce four generations per year, depending on the climatic conditions. The life cycle lasts about 60 days.

Government and UN have helped to supply spray and seed to re-sow areas affected with early maturing varieties so that the harvest is as little affected as possible.

Over this weekend we move towards the nativity and incarnation. Living in the present but hoping for the future, with the coming of Christ, the Child, Messiah and Light of the World.

We continue to pray for rain and a good harvest here in Mwandi. The showers so far have mainly been soft and gentle. The people have cleared their fields and many are now ploughing and sowing maize, pumpkin and groundnuts. Some army/cut worm has been reported. The open-billed storks and egrets have arrived, signs of the coming of the rains.

There is some malnutrition amongst people as for many the last of last year’s harvest has finished and the new maize will not be ready to harvest for another 3 or 4 months.

So, wherever we are this Christmas and whoever we are with, we would ask you to remember the needs of friends and people in different parts of the world and especially the Christian Community in Bethlehem and the Holy Land and those celebrating in difficult circumstances.

Wishing you every blessing  with a joyful Christmas and a good New Year.

Getting to Zero

Saturday, 1 December was World AIDS Day. It was commemorated in Mwandi in the customary fashion. On the Friday evening, a march through the village, ending with an all-age Inter-Denominational Church Service in the Hospital Chapel to remember lost loved ones who died from HIV Aids took place. The march, starting at the MTN cell-phone tower, was led the Boys Brigade Drums, followed by hospital staff, local Church people and the children from the OVC carrying red balloons and smaller A4 posters saying, HIV is going to lose. A banner carried by staff displayed the official message: Zero New Infections, Zero Discrimination, Zero Aids-Related Deaths.

In the Chapel the UCZ youth choir and Praise Team led the worship with appropriate choruses and songs.
The UCZ Deaconess opened in prayer while one of the Pentecostal pastors was the Master of Ceremonies, the Wesleyan Pastor gave the homily and the Roman Catholic Father came straight from Mass for the candle-lighting and moment of silence. The doctor also spoke. Before the blessing, there was a wonderful and moving testimony given by a young woman living with HIV/AIDS. This was a first for us where a person spoke openly and publicly about her status.
The next day we were blessed by rain, so instead of having an outside ceremony at TB Square, the commemoration was held inside, again in the chapel. A former Deaconess, the Hospital Administrator, the UCZ Minister and the Doctor all graced this meeting which comprised of prayers, speeches, dancing, poems, drama and songs.

For the first time, a task force, comprising of young people, employed at the hospital organized and ran both events. It was a resounding success. As one of them said it was like one of these reality TV programmes - The Apprentice, sprang to mind, where you are given a task, a time constraint and then told to get on with it!
Some of the local constraints and challenges the hospital is facing needs to be highlighted. The annual AIDS Relief budget from PEPFAR is being reduced each year but an increasing number of patients are accessing ARVs and requiring care at the same time. The Zambian Government contribution to the budget has to reach 15% of the budget and they are being expected to take over the programme in its entirety in 4 years. There are still many gaps. Our lab machines often lack reagents as none are available at Central Medical Stores. While supplies of ARVs are usually adequate, medicines and drugs for treating opportunistic infections are in short supply or unavailable.
According to some recent statistic published in The Post newspaper on Saturday, the National AIDS Council recorded 69 000 new infections. 27 000 are young people between 15 and 24, and shamefully over 16 000 of them were girls.
The UNAIDS Report for 2012 shows Zambia has reduced new HIV infections by 58% and 80% of them are receiving HIV treatment. The national prevalence rate is just over 14%, but our testing rate is, regionally, one of the lowest standing at 28%.

In another article in the same paper an Italian Professor Paolo Marandola points out that the war against HIV is far from being won. Even if the number of people each year dying from the disease is lower than the number of the newly infected it means the HIV positive population is growing, so prevention is obviously weaker than treatment. Increased access to ARVs is for those with a CD4 count of less than 350. Those HIV positive individuals with a higher CD4 count are still apparently healthy and sexually active.
Resistance and adherence are looming problems that need to be addressed. Neither of these are helped by the current policy of waiting until a lethal disease such as HIV TB or cancer manifests itself then beginning treatment. In response to these problems, universal testing, universal early treatment and universal sex education in schools are suggested even although there will be objections raised about the cost of these steps.
The dream of getting to zero can only be realized if the Zambian people take their destiny into their own hands by owning the response and actively preventing new infections.