Zambia - May 2008

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Nicole and I went to Zambia for a global health conference sponsored by CIDRZ in Zambia, Africa. This relates to Paul's work with Partners In Health and the Global Health Delivery project. (This was my second trip and Nicole's first trip to Zambia.)

• See Nicole's photos on flickr. (My photos need to be recovered from the Leica which I stupidly damaged under Victoria Falls. :(

Zambia is one of the poorest countries in Africa, with over half the population living on less than $1/day, and over 90% of the population living on less than $2/day.

As with many poverty-stricken countries, the rate of infectious disease is high. In some areas of Zambia, the HIV infection rate is as high as 28%. :( Just about every Zambian I met had lost at least one family member who died from AIDS.

CIDRZ has over 100,000 patients enrolled on ARV (antiretroviral) treatment, which is one of the largest ARV programs in the world. It has been eye-opening to learn the processes necessary for a community to fight such a large infection rate. CIDRZ processes are thus very different from PIH (Partners In Health), my favorite organization working on global health issues. The PIH projects are in many other areas, including Boston, Haiti, Peru, Russia, Rwanda and Malawi.

This was one of the best trips I have ever taken. After my participation and presentation at the CIDRZ meeting, Nicole and I visited some CIDRZ projects in Lusaka, and then went to Victoria Falls (stunning) on the Zambia/Zimbabwe border, and then on a safari from Mfuwe Lodge in South Luanga National Park. The safari was absolutely breath-taking. (And most importantly, the father-daughter time with Nicole was awesome.:)

More information on Zambia: CIA Factbook, State Department, The Google