Zambia's Founding Father Takes HIV Test

LUSAKA, Zambia — Kenneth Kaunda, Zambia's first president and founding father, took an HIV test at a "New Start" voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) center that was inaugurated in downtown Lusaka. He tested negative.

Dr. Kaunda took the HIV test in the hopes that others will follow his example and called on everyone - including the president and government ministers - to be tested.

Dr. Kaunda said the creation of more VCT centers by the Society for Family Health, a Zambian non-profit organization which manages the center, should be encouraged because it would help in the fight against the AIDS pandemic.

The Society for Family Health is an affiliate of Population Services International (PSI), a non-profit social marketing organization based in Washington, D.C. PSI opened its first VCT center in neighboring Zimbabwe in 1999 and now operates VCT programs in a total of 12 African countries. The network of "New Start" VCT centers in Zimbabwe has grown from one to 12 centers and increased its monthly client flow from 230 to over 4,000. These efforts use social marketing to make the services accessible and create demand.

An estimated 20% of the adult population in Zambia - a country of 10 million - is infected with the AIDS virus, yet only a tiny percentage of people have actually come forward to be tested. Research has shown that people who are tested - whether they turn out to be HIV positive or negative - are more likely to adopt healthy attitudes and behavior as a result of the counseling and testing.

To help kick start the campaign, Dr. Kaunda agreed to undergo the first official test at the center. Dr. Kaunda - who lost a son to AIDS in 1986 and admitted it publicly - is one of the few African leaders who waged an early and public fight against HIV/AIDS.

At the opening ceremony, a group of musicians sang a catchy song urging Zambians to make a "new start" in the fight against HIV/AIDS by coming forward to be tested.

The new center provides results in around 30 minutes as well as counseling both before and after the test. Everything is fully confidential. The service - which costs around 25 U.S. cents - is priced to be affordable to lower income people. The PSI/SFH social marketing project will also utilize an aggressive advertising campaign to encourage more people to take the test.

Society for Family Health Executive Director Nils Gade said his organization would work to destigmatize VCT and make it something that every Zambian would be comfortable doing. Gade said SFH had set an ambitious goal of 5,000 clients to be tested in the first year of the new center's operation.

"We at SFH are extremely excited about this new project, and look forward to the day when HIV/AIDS is truly overcome in Zambia and is nothing more than a bad memory," said Gade.

The New Start VCT center in Zambia is funded by PSI's own resources. The Society for Family Health hopes to open more centers around the country if donor funding can be found.

—David J. Olson, Senior Manager for Public Affairs, PSI/Washington

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Zambia's first president and founding father Kenneth Kaunda.