Zambia marks World AIDS Day with renewed leadership and commitment for HIV Prevention

LUSAKA, 1 December 2025 — Zambia today commemorates World AIDS Day 2025 under the theme “Overcoming Disruption, Transforming the AIDS Response”, with a high-level event officiated by the Honourable Minister of Health, Dr Elijah J. Muchima, at Kuku grounds, Lusaka.

This year’s commemoration comes at a critical moment for the global AIDS response, marked by significant disruptions in international health financing that have affected civil society organisations, adolescents, young people, and vulnerable and key populations.

Speaking during the ceremony, the Minister reaffirmed Zambia’s unwavering commitment to ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030, despite the recent reductions in donor support. He highlighted Zambia’s remarkable progress in the AIDS response, including reducing new HIV infections by half since 2010 and achieving the 95–95–95 HIV treatment targets (98–98–97). He commended stakeholders for the continued scale-up of life-saving services over the past year. “Zambia must not lose momentum. AIDS is not over, and a transformative approach is required to mitigate risks and accelerate our response” said the Minister during his speech.  “We must turn disruption into a driver of innovation, resilience, and transformation”.

“We urge the Government to step up efforts to curb new HIV infections, especially among young people, by scaling up HIV education programmes in our communities,” said Julius Kachidza, representing the Civil Society Self-Coordinating Mechanism (CSSCM). “We also need a clear mechanism to support community-led interventions to ensure a more sustainable AIDS response, including the development of a national social contracting policy.”

Isaac Ahemesah, UNAIDS Country Director, speaking on behalf of the United Nations Resident Coordinator, noted that vulnerable groups, adolescent girls, young women, and children, continue to carry a disproportionate burden of new HIV infections. “Addressing these gaps requires not only stronger programming but also innovative and sustainable financing approaches, as outlined in the Zambia HIV Response Sustainability Roadmap launched one year ago.”

During last week’s HIV Prevention Symposium held at the Government Complex, the faith community stepped forward as a committed partner in ensuring that every person is reached. “From the faith community, we welcome enhanced Precision prevention strategies, which enable us to allocate resources where they matter most and ensure that every single person in the community is included,” said Prof. Joseph Banda, Chair of the Global Fund Country Coordinating Mechanism.

Official Launch of Lenacapavir and the Zambia HIV Prevention Roadmap 2025–2030

A major milestone of the commemoration was the official launch of Lenacapavir, a long-acting injectable HIV prevention option, which provides protection for six months with a single injection and is particularly promising for adolescent girls, young women, and key populations who face significant barriers in adhering to daily oral PrEP options. Zambia is now among the first countries in Africa to introduce this method as part of its HIV prevention strategy.

To guide the scale-up of Lenacapavir alongside existing prevention strategies, the Minister also launched the Zambia HIV Prevention Roadmap 2025–2030. The Roadmap defines five strategic pillars, sets ambitious targets to reduce new HIV infections to 15,000 by 2030, and prioritises innovation, accountability, and community-led approaches as core components of the national response.

During the event, the National HIV/AIDS/STI/TB Council (NAC) and partners formally handed over a Joint Communiqué summarising key resolutions from the 2025 HIV Prevention Symposium held the previous week, under the theme: “Accelerating, Sustaining, and Innovating HIV Prevention in a Rapidly Changing Global Landscape”. The communiqué affirms a united national commitment to safeguard progress and transform HIV prevention so that it is accelerated, more innovative, and more sustainable, advancing Zambia’s goal of ending AIDS by 2030.

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For more information, please contact:

Sarah Talon Sampieri (Ms.), Programme Analyst 

UNAIDS Office in Zambia

P: +260774261449

E: Talonsampieris@unaids.org