Due to the impact of HIV and AIDS, Zambia faces the ongoing challenge of caring for a large number of vulnerable children and adolescents. Over 30 percent of households in Zambia currently care for or foster orphaned children. The ACHIEVE Project is a five-year activity focused on standardizing case management systems for improved access to health and social protection services for vulnerable children and adolescents. 

USAID ACHIEVE project strengthens the capacity of the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services (MCDSS) and community structures to deliver comprehensive and standardized case management to vulnerable children and adolescents (VCA). The project improves the ability of the Zambian government to serve the needs of VCA. 

  • Life of Project: November 2020 - November 2025
  • Geographic Focus: Central, Copperbelt, Eastern, Lusaka, North-Western, Southern, and Western provinces
  • Partner: Pact
  • Chief of Party: Jennifer Mulik
  • Total USAID Funding: $10 million
  • USAID Contact: Ngaitila Phiri - nphiri@usaid.gov
ACHIEVE works with MCDSS at national, province, district and community levels to strengthen its systems and improve planning and implementation of key activities. ACHIEVE will develop a functional VCA tracking system and strengthen MCDSS systems and capacity to provide real time data to plan, identify gaps and budgeting to meet areas of greatest need. The project will also strengthen MCDSS’s capacity to successfully implement Government-to-Government initiatives to achieve and maintain HIV epidemic control among pregnant and breastfeeding women, infants, children, and youth.

Expected Results

The USAID ACHIEVE project is expected to greatly improve MCDSS’s capacity to take full ownership of Zambia’s VCA program. Supporting the Ministry’s management of this program is directly in line with USAID’s Journey to Self-Reliance approach for Zambia and the long-term sustainability of USAID programming. ACHIEVE will also increase the use of data for decision making (including related to maximizing the effectiveness of budget allocations) and improve accountability at all levels. 

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