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FRIDAY, 06.10.06
LIVINGSTONE October 20, 2006: The Ministry of Works and Supply, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have collaborated on the funding, technical support and construction of three new voluntary counseling and testing centers (VCTs) in the Livingstone and Kazungula districts.
The additional centers are located at the Dambwa and Maramba health centers in the Livingstone District and at the Mukuni clinic in Chief Mukuni’s village, Kazungula district. An additional VCT facility located at the State Lodge clinic in Lusaka District was also completed and will soon be staffed and put to use by the Ministry of Health. The U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Ambassador Dr. Mark Dybul, officially handed over the facilities to the Ministry of Health in Livingstone on October 20, 2006. The handover took place at the Zambia Police VCT center located at the corner of Maramba Road and New Kazimuli Road, opposite the Livingstone Central Police.
The participation of Ambassador Dybul at this important event emphasized the interest of the U.S. government in helping the Government of Zambia expand access to HIV testing to under-served populations such as uniformed personnel.
Livingstone District with a population of 122,026 people currently has 13 clinics that provide VCT services and one stand alone VCT center. In 2005, a total of 6,502 people received counseling and testing in the district, representing 5% of the total population.
Availability of the new facilities increases the number of VCT centers available. It also provides the Livingstone District Health Management Team with a greater capacity to reach more people with VCT, TB/HIV and other care and treatment services.
The Ministry of Works and Supply provided the technical support and construction supervision, the U.S. Department of Defense funded the construction, and CDC furnished and equipped the VCTs. The VCT facilities will be staffed and used by the Ministry of Health.
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