Protecting children for a better future
Since 1965. CMMB has worked with provincial and district health offices of the Ministry of Health in all 10 Zambian provinces and enjoys a close relationship with the Zambian Episcopal Conference and the Churches Health Association of Zambia, the umbrella organization of Zambia’s faith-based healthcare institutions.
Program areas include:
- CHAMPS
- Child protection, including support for orphans and vulnerable children
- Domestic and international volunteers
- Gender-based violence prevention
- HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and treatment, including prevention of mother-to-child transmission
- Neonatal asphyxia
- Prevention and control of malaria
- Voluntary medical male circumcision
In rural areas, where government services may be sparse, CMMB Zambia partners with traditional leadership, from paramount chiefs to village headmen. These individuals play a critical role in defining community norms, and are often revered members of local governance structures. Collaboration and cooperation are critical to project effectiveness and sustainability.
With support from USAID, CMMB works as a subpartner to Luapula Foundation, a local NGO, to strengthen district and community structures aimed at improving services for orphans and vulnerable children. Working in Copperbelt, Southern, Luapula, Central, and Lusaka provinces, CMMB Zambia works to mobilize and link communities to existing support structures and builds technical capacity.
CMMB is also implementing The Kusamala Project, a child protection project intended to reverse family, community, and system tolerance for harmful practices and build their capacity to provide stable, protective, nurturing family environments for children. Project support also includes community mobilization and advocacy.
Snapshots from Zambia
Zambia
Click on the pin icons on the map to discover CMMB's programs and initiatives in Zambia.
The Power of Access & Healthcare Infrastructure in Zambia
In 2015, 37,686 people were reached with standardized HIV prevention interventions.
Diana, a maternal and child health coordinator at Makululu Health Facility knows that treating HIV+ mothers is complicated. Diana says that delivering at home comes with many complications, "In cases where the mother is exposed, it's critical for the mother to deliver at a health facility so her baby can receive treatment." However, some mothers keep their HIV status a secret, even from their husbands. The effects of stigma can be devastating.
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In 2015, 3,000 orphans and vulnerable children were linked to critical health and social welfare services.
In Zambia, we depend on women like Florence, a Community Health Worker trained to spot vulnerable children who need intervention. Quick to smile, experienced, and motherly, Florence met 16 year old Alfred on the streets of Kabwe. She learned that both his parents had died from HIV, and that he was supporting his grandmother and six siblings by selling plastic bags. CMMB is now supporting the family with access to healthcare, outreach and home visits. Alfred's grandmother says, "This boy is my hero."
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In 2015, 6,729 people received increased access to safe water.
In some parts of Zambia, families may use a taxi cab to transport a week's worth of clean water from a safe source to their homes. In Mwandi, however, many households have no income and no money for a taxi. These families must rely on the only free water source available – shallow wells. "Free water can come at a high personal cost," says Brian, a community health worker. "We record high numbers of diarrhea and dysentery cases among children in the area due to a lack of clean, safe water.“ Without any other options, families depend on shallow wells during the rainy season.
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