Prevention

Corridors of Hope II (COH II) is a three-year HIV/AIDS Prevention Initiative supported with funding from the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The project directly compliments ZINGO thematic area of intensifying HIV and AIDS prevention. COH II aims to reduce the spread of HIV in seven high prevalence border and transportation corridor communities by targeting traditional high risk groups, bridge populations and the general community. It engages local leaders, local non-governmental, community- and faith-based organizations (NGOs, CBOs and FBOs), and structures such as District Health Management Teams (DHMTs) and District AIDS Task Forces (DATFs) to serve as catalysts within their communities and to play a central role in the design, implementation and evaluation of COH II. Through these efforts, the project aims to change community norms of sexual behavior throughout the entire high prevalence populations of these communities.

The three main objectives of the project are to:

1. Increase the provision of comprehensive HIV/AIDS prevention services and behavior and social change interventions.
2. Link with referral networks for care and treatment and with education and economic improvement activities, such as Finance and Improved Technology project (PROFIT), Development Alternatives Inc.’s Market, Access, Trade, and Enabling Policies project (MATEP), and the American Institutes for Research’s Community Health and Nutrition, Gender and Education Support-2 project (CHANGES2).
3. Engage and mobilize corridor communities, their leaders, and local organizations in addressing HIV/AIDS transmission and prevention and social change issues through locally identified solutions.

COH II Project began implementing its activities in September 27, 2006 and ends September 30, 2009. It is implemented by Research Tringle International (RTI) in partnership with Family Health International (FHI). The local implementing partners are Zambia Interfaith Networking Group on HIV and AIDS (ZINGO), Afya Mzuri and Zambia Health Education and Communications Trust (ZHECT).