LUSAKA, June 17 (Xinhua) -- The United States government on Monday announced that it will contribute 421 million U.S. dollars next year in support of Zambia's efforts to accelerate the fight against HIV/AIDS.
Daniel Foote, US Ambassador to Zambia, said the funds were meant to support the joint goal of reaching HIV epidemic control by 2020 and have been provided under the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.
"To date, the U.S. government has contributed almost 4 billion dollars toward controlling HIV in Zambia over the past 16 years, demonstrating the commitment of the American people to a strong and healthy Zambia," he said during a joint press briefing with Health Minister Chitalu Chilufya.
He encouraged more Zambians to go for HIV testing in order to know their status, adding that the U.S. government will initiate about 80,000 men on HIV treatment next year.
The U.S. envoy however called on the Zambian government to allocate more resources to the health hector to address other disease burdens such as Tuberculosis, malaria and maternal mortality.
On his part, the Zambian minister said the country was making steady progress with attaining HIV epidemic control which was being done through encouraging testing and treatment.
He further said Zambia was on course to achieve the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS targets toward eradicating HIV infections.
He noted that the funding from the U.S. government represents an increase by 36 million dollars compared to the funding in the previous year.
