•HIV/AIDS agriculture based prevention and mitigation interventions can, through external mainstreaming, contribute to and improve health and well being.

By AMOS ZULU –
IN 2001, HIV/AIDS was declared as social and economic issue and it remained a critical component of the Fifth and Sixth National Development Plans (FNDP).
The FNDP run from 2006 to 2010, while the sixth run from 2011 to 2016.
According to the UNAIDS report of 2012, Zambia is among the Sub-Saharan countries where HIV infections have reduced drastically.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock recently launched the HIV/AIDS workplace policy to run from 2014 to 2018 with a goal of promoting health and healthy lifestyles towards improved employee wellness and productivity.
Agriculture and Livestock Permanent Secretary, David Shamulenge said the development of the HIV/AIDS and wellness policy was born out of the need to seriously assess how human resources could be preserved from the distressing impact of communicable, non-communicable, other health conditions and HIV/AIDS.
Dr Shamulenge said the ministry was tasked with responsibility of ensuring national food security and national economic growth, and as such, formulating efficient and effective means to mitigate the pandemic cannot be over emphasised.
“The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock took a research based and consultative approach, in formulating this policy. It has been developed through a wider consultation involving national, provincial, and district stakeholders,” he said.
He said guided by the vision of promoting wellness in the workplace, the policy was built on the principles and priorities of the national health policy.
“As such, the goal of the policy is to promote health and healthy lifestyles in the ministry, towards improved employee wellness and productivity. The objectives among others include: raising awareness
on HIV prevention, care and treatment, to address divers of the pandemic, and promote access to HIV/AIDS services.
“It also aims to identify sources of stress and how they can be mitigated, respect the dignity of each employee, and provide regular feedback and recognition of performance to employees,” Dr Shamulenge said.
Agriculture and Livestock Deputy Minister Greyford Monde said the ministry was committed to realising the vision and goals outlined in the national agricultural policy and the strategic plan.
Mr Monde said to achieve the objective, HIV/AIDS agricultural based prevention and mitigation interventions can, through external mainstreaming, contribute and improve health and wellness.
He said the ministry should courageously face up to the challenges presented by non-communicable, communicable diseases and HIV/AIDS pandemic.
“The policy we are launching presents a transformative agenda for the ministry of agriculture and livestock in HIV/AIDS and wellness response,” he said.
Chief of Party at support to the HIV/AIDS response in Zambia II (SHARe II), Muka Mcleod, said the threat of HIV spread and HIV related illnesses will continue to be significant especially if HIV prevention is not scaled up.
Dr Mcleod said HIV /AIDS has continued to be a threat to the ministry’s ability to effectively carry out its mandate.
She added that in the last two decades, the ministry had many productive employees lost through deaths as a result of AIDS.
She said that it was the reason why USAID through SHARe II has partnered with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock to support the implementation of workplace based HIV/AIDS programmes and to improve the implementation environment through supportive policies.
“Thanks to the Government of Zambia and its partners, including the United States Government who have collectively made it possible for more than 500,000 Zambians to have access to life saving
anti-retroviral drugs, the threat of death because of AIDS is less today than it was in 1994.
“Because we work very closely with the ministry through SHARe II, I am aware that the ministry has one of the
strongest and most active HIV prevention programmes in the public sector, coordinated through its wellness and HIV/AIDS committee,” she said.
It is envisaged that the programme will help improve people’s attitude and lives as cooperating partners embark on appropriate interventions meant to boost the workforce in the Ministry of Agriculture. — NAIS