Zambia still carries a heavy HIV burden, especially among young people. Stigma, service gaps, and social vulnerability continue to drive new infections, while mental health remains largely overlooked despite its impact on prevention and care.
→ PLAEP’s outreach programs educate youth, provide counseling, and break down barriers to treatment and prevention.
Peer-delivered Sexual Health Rights and Psychosocial Support (SHARPS) supports pregnant and breastfeeding adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) living with HIV in Kitwe and Lusaka. The project expands access to stigma-free, peer-led psychosocial and sexual and reproductive health services through clinic and community collaboration, helping participants build resilience and self-worth.
These ervices are delivered by trained peer supporters who are also young people living with HIV, providing education, adherence support, and psychosocial care.
Smart Choices is a 6-hour seminar that equips young people with decision making skills, with a focus on understanding STIs including HIV/AIDS and how sexual choices can impact their life goals. The workshop combines education on HIV transmission with a spiritual dimension, helping participants see their own value and worth. It uses videos, games, and interactive activities to make learning engaging.
Smart Choices has been delivered in over 30 schools and churches across Kitwe and the Copperbelt province, reaching more than 10,000 young people with life skills training on positive decision making, delaying sexual debut, and HIV/STI awareness.
This project works to prevent HIV transmission among women of reproductive age, reduce unwanted pregnancies among HIV-positive women, and ensure access to lifelong ART during pregnancy, labor, and breastfeeding. Central to the approach is PLAEP’s recruitment of “mentor mothers,” HIV-positive community members aged 19 to 49 with at least two years of PMTCT experience. These women have accepted their status and are willing to share their experiences with peers. After receiving training in PMTCT and HIV care, they conduct community outreach to increase demand for maternal and newborn health services.
PLAEP’s “youth friendly corners” programme provides adolescents with access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) services and knowledge in a safe, welcoming environment. In 2016 and 2017, two youth friendly corners were successfully established at Ipusukilo and Riverside clinics, both located within PLAEP’s catchment communities.