Aptly named for the mineral whose reserves in the province are some of the world’s largest, Copperbelt Province is also one of the world’s largest producers of processed copper, Zambia’s most important export. Copper mining has been associated with this region since the pre-colonial era. Beyond the mining industry, the Copperbelt boasts several important natural wonders, including Lake Chilengwa, Kapisha Hot Spring, and Chembe Bird Sanctuary.
USAID ACTIVITIES IN COPPERBELT PROVINCE
USAID/Zambia implements 17 activities in the Health, Education, and Economic Development sectors in the Copperbelt Province. Through these activities, USAID invests a large portion of funding into Copperbelt Province. The three largest activities in the province, in terms of annual funding, are DISCOVER-Health, Supporting an AIDS Free Era (SAFE), and the Service Delivery for HIV Prevention (SDHP) I project.. With the highest provincial HIV prevalence rate (15.4 percent), USAID invests a significant portion of its overall provincial budget toward preventing the spread of HIV and providing treatment and support services to persons living with HIV (PLHIV) to ensure Zambia is on track to achieve our 95-95-95 framework. Additional focus is placed on preventing new HIV infections through high-impact, evidence-based programs such as DREAMS. Additional health funding is channeled to gender-based violence prevention, family services, and TB detection and treatment.
Due to high malaria prevalence in the province, Copperbelt is also a focus region for malaria elimination under the President’s Malaria Initiative. PMI delivers cost-effective, life-saving malaria interventions—such as insecticide-treated bed nets, indoor residual spraying, and essential medicines—alongside catalytic technical and operational assistance.
Given the wide scope of our health programming and the high level of engagement with the Zambian government in the province, USAID/Zambia operates a Provincial Health Office in Ndola, the provincial capital of Copperbelt Province, to coordinate government-to-government funding and provincial programming.
USAID implements community-based wildlife, fisheries, and forest conservation in the Greater Kafue Landscape, which includes Kafue National Park, Zambia’s largest national park. Efforts focus on reducing poaching, deforestation, bush fires, and human encroachment for sustainable livelihoods and economic and human health benefits.
HEALTH
ACHIEVE
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. 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 budget 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.
Partner: Pact, Inc.
Duration: Nov. 2020 - Nov. 2025
District Coverage of Health Services (DISCOVER-Health)
DISCOVER-Health supports HIV prevention and treatment, family planning, and maternal and child health programs. The project scales up Test and Start HIV treatment, facilitates access to, and uptake of, family planning and HIV prevention services, and ensures a strong continuum of care between clinics and communities. DISCOVER-Health has also been the lead project for COVID-19 mitigation measures in the province, which include prevention through vaccination and case management by facilitating the provision of oxygen to the main regional COVID-19 treatment centers. In Copperbelt province, DISCOVER-Health is active in the following districts: Chililabombwe, Chingola, Kalulushi, Kitwe, Luanshya, Masaiti, Mpongwe, Mufulira, and Ndola.
Partner: John Snow, Inc.
Duration: Dec. 2015 – March 2023
Electronic Supply Chain Management Information System (eSCMIS)
The Electronic Supply Chain Management Information System (eSCMIS) project works to ensure an uninterrupted supply of health commodities to and within Zambia. Partnering with the Zambian government and the Ministry of Health (MOH), this activity strengthens logistics information systems, bolsters the use of data-driven decision-making, and provides reliable procurement services and technical assistance. The eSCMIS project supports improved accountability, decision-making, fiscal responsibility, and better health outcomes.
Partner: John Snow Health Zambia (JSH-Z) Limited
Duration: Jan. 2020 - Jan. 2024
Empowered Child and Adolescents Program I
The Empowered Children and Adolescents Program (ECAP) works to mitigate the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and improve the health and well-being of highly vulnerable children and adolescents (VCA) and their families. Targeting the communities hardest hit by HIV/AIDS, the program provides wrap-around, needs-based services to support the resilience of families to be healthy, stable, safe, and educated, working in partnership with health facilities, school, and other community structures. By responding to the unique needs of children and adolescents living with or at high risk of HIV, ECAP is contributing to epidemic control in Zambia.
Partner: CMMB-Z
Duration: Sept. 2020 - Sept. 2025
Eradicate Tuberculosis (ETB)
ETB works in partnership with the Zambian government, the National TB Control Program, the Zambian private sector, and other partners to strengthen the response in each of the Copperbelt’s districts. Targeting high TB-burden communities, ETB focuses on finding new TB cases, laboratory strengthening, management of drug-resistant TB, and operational research.
Prime Partner: Program for Appropriate Technology in Health
Duration: May 2017 – May 2022
Evidence for Health
The Evidence for Health mechanism helps Zambia's Ministry of Health (MOH) improve the use of data for decision-making and expand the information base to strengthen and inform program development and performance improvement. Quality data for decision making is critical for effectiveness and accountability of taxpayer resources. This enables USAID and the MOH to focus on priority development concerns within their manageable interests and scope while contributing to USAID's goals of preventing child and maternal deaths, controlling the HIV epidemic, and combating infectious diseases, including COVID-19.
Partner: Management Systems International
Duration: March 2020 - March 2025
Impact Malaria
Impact Malaria supports the Zambian National Malaria Elimination Centre’s (NMEC) strategic plan to tackle malaria service delivery challenges, focusing on providing effective and efficient diagnosis and treatment to patients at health facilities and in community settings. This program supports outreach, training, and supportive supervision to strengthen case management and improve the use of data for analysis and decision making at all levels. Impact Malaria is implemented in each of the Copperbelt’s 10 districts: Chililabombwe, Chingola, Kalulushi, Kitwe, Luanshya, Lufwanyama, Masaiti, Mpongwe, Mufulira, and Ndola.
Partners: Population Services International and Medical Care Development International
Duration: Sept. 2018 – Jan. 2023
Open Doors
Open Doors aims to expand HIV care, prevention, and treatment services for under-served populations along one of Zambia’s primary transport corridors and in other HIV hotspots. The activity focuses on closing gaps in service delivery and on increasing access for key populations, including female sex workers (FSW), men who have sex with men (MSM), and transgender individuals. In the Copperbelt Province, Open Doors is implemented in Kitwe and Chililabombwe.
Partner: FHI 360
Duration: May 2016 – Dec. 2022
Service Delivery for HIV Prevention (SDHP) 1 Project
SDHP seeks to improve the health outcomes of Zambians by preventing new infections among priority and key populations most at risk of acquiring HIV such as adolescent girls and young women (AGYW), adolescent boys and young men (ABYM), men who have sex with men (MSM), female sex workers (FSW), transgender people and prisoners. The SDHP I project combines two separate prevention activities: Zambia Community HIV Prevention Project (Z-CHPP) and the Open Doors Project.
In Copperbelt province, the project is in Ndola, Kitwe,Chingola, Mufulira, Luanshya, and Chililabombwe districts.
Partner: CIDRZ
Duration: Oct. 2021- Oct. 2026
STOP GBV
STOP GBV aims to strengthen and expand opportunities for girls, women, boys, and men and enable them to live lives free of gender-based violence (GBV) and enjoy healthy, gender-equitable relationships. The STOP GBV project builds government and traditional leaders’ capacity and commitment to GBV prevention, response, and law enforcement and works with communities to challenge unhealthy gender norms. Additionally, One-Stop GBV response care centers manage cases and provide the following: victim-support services by the Zambian Police, paralegal services, HIV testing and linkage to treatment, and child-friendly counseling services. STOP GBV is implemented in seven of Copperbelt’s districts: Chingola, Kalulushi, Kitwe, Luanshya, Masaiti, Mufulira, and Ndola.
Partner: Zambia Center for Communication Programs
Duration: Nov. 2018 – Nov. 2023
Supporting an AIDS Free Era (SAFE)
SAFE provides Zambians with direct HIV service delivery and technical assistance to reduce HIV mortality, morbidity, and transmission while improving nutrition outcomes and family planning integration. SAFE has successfully leveraged private sector resources by partnering with mining companies and the small businesses that serve miners. Finally, SAFE works closely with the Zambian government to strengthen sub-national monitoring and evaluation capacity, public financial management, and human resource management systems for improved program management. Working with 148 facilities, over 188,000 HIV-positive individuals are receiving life-saving treatment across nine Copperbelt districts: Chililabombwe, Chingola, Kalulushi, Kitwe, Luanshya, Masaiti, Mpongwe, Mufulira, and Ndola.
Partner: John Snow, Inc.
Duration: Aug. 2017 – Aug. 2022
VectorLink
VectorLink is part of the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) supporting malaria elimination in nineteen countries. VectorLink focuses on indoor residual spraying (IRS) and the procurement of IRS-related commodities. The activity also provides technical assistance for environmental compliance in support of the Zambia National Malaria Elimination Center’s IRS program.
Prime Partner: Abt Associates Inc.
Duration: Sept. 2017 – Aug. 2022
Zambia Accessible Markets for Health (ZAM-Health)
USAID ZAM-Health aims to improve health outcomes for Zambians by increasing the use of high-quality health products and services among priority audiences. The project aims to accomplish this through sustainably expanding the availability and accessibility of high-quality health products and services in the private sector, improving health knowledge, and increasing the adoption of healthy and health-seeking behaviors. Within the framework of a total market approach, the program employs private sector approaches and partnerships with commercial and for-profit entities to achieve these outcomes.
Prime Partner: John Snow, Inc.
Duration: June 2021 - June 2026
EDUCATION
EduFinance
EduFinance is USAID’s core private sector partnership in the education sector. The activity leverages essential private capital to improve access to quality primary education for students in target catchment zones. In partnership with the Ministry of General Education (MOGE), the project is developing and implementing a comprehensive policy and regulatory environment to reduce barriers to entry for non-state primary education providers. EduFinance also works with the MOGE to develop administrative capacity to effectively regulate the non-state education sector. The activity will ultimately improve educational access and equity by increasing enrollment opportunities for primary school students in Zambia.
Partners: Palladium, Opportunity International (Sub), Education Partnership Group, and PEAS
Duration: June 2020 - Sept. 2024
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Eastern Kafue Nature Alliance
The new Eastern Kafue Nature Alliance aims to achieve biodiversity conservation and cross-cutting outcomes in health, water and sanitation, nutrition, and food security in two districts: Mpongwe and Lufwanyama. Unsustainable agricultural expansion, poaching, overfishing, deforestation, and habitat degradation are major threats affecting the biodiversity of the Greater Kafue Landscape. The Alliance will harness over $11 million in private investment and strengthen community governance institutions to inform and contribute to strengthening disincentives for illegal behavior, while increasing incentives for proper stewardship and pride in wildlife and tourism, thereby improving and stabilizing long-term economic and livelihood opportunities for rural communities.
Prime Partner: The Nature Conservancy
Duration: Sept. 2021 – Sept. 2026
Emerging Farmers Partnership GDA (EFP)
Zambia has fewer than 1,000 commercial farmers who have access to commercial finance and utilize irrigation and mechanization. Over the past decade, a new class of “emergent” farmers has become established through the commercialization of some smallholder farmers as well as through investments by salaried and business persons. The emergent farmers operate more as businesses and cultivate over 20 hectares. In turn, emerging farmers serve as lead agro-entrepreneurs who can link organized groups of smallholder farmers to input and output markets and promote the adoption of more productive, climate resilient technologies. The ultimate goal is to commercialize 10,000 emerging farmers to increase the scope and trade of high-value products, building a stronger economy. In the Copperbelt Province, the project is implemented in Mpongwe, Lufwanyama, and Masaiti districts.
Partner: Global Communities
Duration: Oct. 2020 - Oct. 2023
Scaling Up Nutrition Technical Assistance (SUN TA)
SUN TA is an integrated nutrition program. The aim of SUN TA in the Copperbelt is to reduce stunting and improve access to water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities in two selected districts: Kitwe and Ndola. SUN TA builds strength-based and need-based technical capacity for the National Food and Nutrition Commission and line ministries, primarily at the district level and below. It works hand-in-hand with Zambian government officials on joint work planning, prioritization, budgeting, activity implementation, progress reporting, and monitoring.
Prime Partner: DAI
Duration: Feb. 2019 – Feb. 2026