Suddenly, the town centre is bursting with a crowd of skimpily dressed young females heading to a variety of night entertainment outlets within the vicinity. A closer look at most of them reveals that they are already tanked-up, while others are seen sipping from the almost empty bottles of alcoholic beverages in their hands.
Nearly in a blinking of an eye, almost everyone disappears and re-emerges later between midnight and hours either in the company of a male folk or being aided by slightly sloshed fellow ladies as they stagger back to their respective homes. This pair is seemingly in a compromising mood, after which money exchanges hands. They are under the influence of alcohol, which may lead them into engaging in casual sex, thereby exposing themselves to HIV infection, considering that Western Province has the second highest HIV prevalence rate at 16 percent, after Lusaka Province whose rate stands at Western Province has a population of slightly over a million people.
One of the young females I will call Martha for the sake of convenience, confessed that poverty has compelled her to go and search for money on the streets of Mongu. Martha, who is in her early 20s, says the money she makes from the night business enables her to fend for her family of eight. She is, however, willing to change her lifestyle if she is accorded an opportunity to do something to earn a living.
The programme does also include their sexual partners who in this case are male adults. The organisation will also set up safe space centres in communities where young people will access HIV prevention services with the help of community change urgents. Z-CHPP has equally included gender mainstreaming in its programmes to sensitise female teenagers and young women on the adverse effects of gender-based violence.
Copperbelt, Lusaka and Southern provinces are the other regions where the organisation operates. The Z-CHPP has a five-year co-operative agreement with USAID to provide HIV prevention services to priority populations, which include adolescent and young women with their sexual partners, discordant couples and other high- risk groups such as mine workers, fishermen and migrant workers.
