go to sub navigation go to content

HOME

ZAMBIA IN BRIEF

ACTIVITIES

SUCCESS STORIES

EVENTS CALENDER

REPORTS

PARTNERS

you are here »home»Stories Of Hope

To view [PDF] documents, you need Acrobat Reader. Download

In One Zambian Town, Coffin Makers Going Out of Business for Good!

Coffin workshop at Ndola Diocese Chishilano Home Care Centre   [photo credit: Renuka Naj, USAID/Zambia]

Signs offering coffins for sale were a common feature in Ndola, a town of approximately 1.6 million people in the Copperbelt Province in Zambia.  Just one year ago, coffin makers in Ndola were busy hammering nails to hold together thin sheets of plywood to fashion the many coffins needed to serve the local community. 

Coffin making has been a lucrative business in Zambia and has often been used as a fund-raising activity.  However, with the expansion of HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and treatment services since the inception of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), coffin makers are now reaping meager profits.  The availability of anti-retroviral drugs and treatment programs has cut into the demand for coffins, forcing many coffin makers to look for other ways to eke out a living. 

"Normally, we built about 4 coffins per day when we started the business.  But now we sell only around one or two a month," said Bernard Mulwani, a 27 year old father of four who works at the Chishilano Home Care Centre Coffin Workshop in Ndola, a project supported by the PEPFAR-funded RAPIDS Project (Reaching HIV/AIDS Affected People with Integrated Development and Support).
 

The reason for the coffin makers’ economic hardship is that people are living longer with anti-retroviral drugs and adhering to good drug regimen.  The drugs are provided by Ministry of Health through Chifubu, Chipulukusu and Ndola General Hospital.  A number of PEPFAR partners can be credited with the improvement of the health status of Zambians in Ndola

The Zambia Prevention, Care and Treatment Partnership (ZPCT), in collaboration with the Ndola Health Management Team, established ART service delivery at Chishilano Community Centre where these coffins are made.  With the PEPFAR Plus-up funding in FY06, RAPIDS trained and supervised community caregivers in home-based ART adherence support.  RAPIDS caregivers working in the area refer home-based care (HBC) clients for ART to Chishilano Centre or AIDSRelief sites in Wusakile Mine Hospital and Ibenaga Mission Hospital.  Over 220 PLWHA are accessing treatment through these centers.
"[Coffin-making] was more profitable than selling goods," Bernard says. “Now we must diversify our products [now that the demand for coffins has diminished].” 

Back to top