Ministry of Health Zambia, Haile Selassie Avenue, Lusaka (2025)

05/12/2025

JOB WELL DONE✅️✅️💪

Adolescents experience rapid physical, cognitive and psychosocial growth. This affects how they feel, think, make decisions, and interact with the world around them.

To grow and develop in good health, adolescents need information, including age-appropriate comprehensive sexuality education; opportunities to develop life skills; health services that are acceptable, equitable, appropriate and effective; and safe and supportive environments(WHO).

The Ministry of Health Zambia with support from the AUDA-NEPAD and the WISH 2 program is reviewing the Minimum Package and Standards for Adolescent Health services.

The first phase of the review process is being led by the Ministry of Health involving key stakeholders. The process will be followed up by the validation meeting before the final document is approved and disseminated.

The participants have been drawn from the National, Provincial and District level. This includes Adolescent Health Technical Working groups, Civil Society organization, Zambia Agency for Persons with Disabilities (ZAPD), Line Ministries, implementing partners such as UNICEF, UNFPA, among others.

The validation meeting will involve adolescents, young people and other key stakeholders to ensure that the finalized guidelines are comprehensive, practical, and aligned with the needs of adolescents. This is to improve health outcomes for adolescents across the country.

Photo Cred: Sepo Mutale Masheke , Ministry of Health Zambia

05/12/2025

LIVE: Triple Book Launch & Sickle Cell Awareness Night

We are celebrating three inspiring books by Mwanza Changala, each shedding light on the journeys of families and individuals living with Sickle Cell Disease.

With remarks from Permanent Secretary – Administration, Mrs. Joma Simuyi, this is a night of empowerment, education, and storytelling.

✨ I Am a Warrior
✨ The Chronicles of SCD
✨ The Alphabet of SCD

Tap in and be part of this powerful conversation!

05/12/2025

GOVERNMENT PARTNERS WITH PRIVATE SECTOR TO BOOST HEALTHCARE TRAINING.

Health Minister Dr. Elijah Muchima says the government of Zambia is taking bold steps to boost health care training in the country.

The government has put up measures to address the shortage of professional specialists in the health care system through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) initiative, the government is collaborating with private health training institutions to increase the number of well-trained healthcare workers.

Dr. Muchima, who said this in a speech read for him by the Ministry of Health Director for Nursing, Daphne Shamambo, during the Starkey Hearing Institute of Zambia's 10th graduation ceremony, stated that the occasion was more than a celebration of academic achievement but a celebration of vision, partnership, and a decade of transformative impact on Zambia and the African continent at large.

Dr. Muchima stated that the Starkey Hearing Institute of Zambia stands among the most productive hearing-care training centres in Africa, and Zambia now sits at the centre of a continental transformation.

He revealed that beyond training professionals, the Starkey Hearing Foundation has directly touched the lives of the people with more than 25,000 Zambians having received hearing aids, completely free of charge in the last decade.

Dr. Muchima said this is not just healthcare but restoration of connection and human potential in every single one of those lives.

He mentioned that the Starkey Hearing Institute and Starkey Hearing Foundation have also operationalized the Public Private Partnership (PPP) vision through the WFA® Community-Based Hearing Healthcare mode which does not only concentrate on hearing care in a few hospitals but includes communities, rural health posts, primary health facilities, schools, and mining towns, an embodiment of primary health care.

More than 430 million people worldwide live with disabling hearing loss. In Africa that number is projected to triple from 136 million to 337 million by 2050. Yet in many regions, fewer than 3% of people have access to hearing healthcare.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says the shortage of trained professionals is the single greatest barrier to hearing health worldwide.

By Naomi Bowa
📸 Milka Chirwa/ Naomi Bowa.

05/12/2025

Chibombo Health Workers Geared for MDA

HEALTH workers in Chibombo district of Central Province say that they are well geared to participate in the forthcoming Mass Drug Administration (MDA) for Lymphatic Filirasis (LF) slated to commence on 10th December 2025.

This campaign is expected to run from 10th -18th December 2025, hence the Ministry of Health’s appeal to the people of Chibombo district is to embrace this exercise as it aims at preventing people from lymphatic filirasis commonly known as elephantiasis.

Officials from the Ministry of Health (HQ) provincial and district levels conducted training for more than 50 health workers from 51 health facilities in that district.

The training aimed at highlighting the importance of Mass Drug Administration in prevention of Lymphatic Filirasis which is one of the common Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) in Zambia.

After a training held in Kabwe town which ran in two segments of two days each, participants said they learned a lot and they were ready to undertake that task.

Mr John Banda of Chitende Rural Health Centre said he was ready to participate in that programme, adding that his aim was to deliver according to the Ministry of Health and cooperating partners’ desire of reaching almost every eligible person in the area.

Mr Banda who is an Environmental Health Technologist (EHT) explained that the Chitende facility has serves 73 villages with an estimated population of 30 431 people.

He said he was ready for the task and his aim was to work in closer collaboration with Community Based Volunteers (CBVs), traditional and church leaders, civic leaders and other influential persons in order to achieve the goal.

He on the other hand appealed to people in his community not to shun that programme as the desire of the Government is to have them be prevented from lymphatic filirasis.

Another participant Benjamin Mweemba said what they learnt from the two-day train had given them impetus to go in the field and render services to the people.

He said as health workers who underwent that training they were equal to the task and their expectation is to reach almost 100 percent coverage.

Mass Drug Administration is the method used to prevent people from Neglected Tropical Diseases, in the Chibombo case, the campaign will aim at preventing people suffering from elephantiasis.

The objective of Mass Drug Administration is to prevent those taken drugs not to get infected with lymphatic filirasis parasite and subsequence of elimination of the disease.

Story and pictures, with courtesy of: MOH Media Team

05/12/2025

✅️💪💪

05/12/2025

Livestream: STARKEY HEARING INSTITUTE OF ZAMBIA GRADUATION.

Join us live for the Starkey Hearing Institute of Zambia Graduation Ceremony at Ciela Resort.

Share with us where you are watching from.

04/12/2025

DETERMINED DISCOURSE
The Ministry of Health Zambia with support from the AUDA-NEPAD and the WISH 2 program is reviewing the Minimum Package and Standards for Adolescent Health services.

The first phase of the review process is being led by the Ministry of Health involving key stakeholders. The process will be followed up by the validation meeting before the final document is approved and disseminated.

The participants have been drawn from the National, Provincial and District level. This includes Adolescent Health Technical Working groups, Civil Society organization, Zambia Agency for Persons with Disabilities (ZAPD), Line Ministries, implementing partners such as UNICEF, UNFPA, among others.

The validation meeting will involve adolescents, young people and other key stakeholders to ensure that the finalized guidelines are comprehensive, practical, and aligned with the needs of adolescents. This is to improve health outcomes for adolescents across the country.

Photo Cred: Sepo Mutale Masheke , Ministry of Health Zambia.

04/12/2025

The Ministry of Health with support from WB HEPRR MPA project, conducted a Mental health and Trauma Focused-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Tf-CBT) to 25 health care workers drawn from various One Stop Centres of 5 Provinces namely; North Western, Southern, Muchinga, Copperbelt and Luapula. Next week 25 from Eastern, Central, Northern, Western and Lusaka will undergo this capacity building training.

The objective is to strengthen the integration of Mental Health and Psychosocial support in the Counseling and trauma support for survivors and foster social integration, including re-integration into society and access to resources.One-stop centres in Zambia are facilities that provide integrated support services to survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) in a single location.

These centers are staffed by various professionals, including health workers, police officers, social workers, and legal personnel, to ensure survivors receive coordinated medical, legal, and psychosocial assistance without having to visit multiple agencies.

The aim is to provide immediate care, support long-term recovery, and help survivors rebuild their lives.

All being done to strengthen mental health integration in key and strategic health disciplines for effective and comprehensive health care service delivery to the general public.

03/12/2025

HEALTH PITCHES 2026 FOCUS

THE health sector is set to make significant strides in 2026, with cooperating partners pledging K2.8 billion in direct budget support.

Speaking at the 2025 Annual Health Consultative Meeting in Lusaka, Health Minister Elijah Muchima, represented by Permanent Secretary for Technical Services, Dr. Kennedy Lishimpi, said the pledged amount will be invested in human resources, medicines, infrastructure, public health, and medical equipment.

“Your partnership is indispensable to the progress we mark today,” Dr. Lishimpi emphasized on behalf of the Minister.

Dr. Muchima reaffirmed the government’s commitment to transparency, accountability, and prudent financial management, noting, “We will continue to implement reforms that ensure every Kwacha delivers measurable health outcomes.”

The Ministry of Health’s Planning and Policy Department has forecast potential areas of investment in 2026, highlighting the need for sustained support.

Meanwhile, UNFPA Country Representative and Lead Cooperating Partner Seth Broekman sought clarification on the burnout rate of funds allocated in 2025, underscoring partners’ unwavering commitment to strengthening Zambia’s health system.

A strong focus on primary healthcare remains paramount, with government plans to expand access at community and district levels, strengthen referral systems and decentralization, and prioritize investments to ensure primary health facilities are service-ready.

As part of presidential priorities, the Ministry of Health will continue efforts to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality, scale up immunization and nutrition programmes, and expand adolescent-friendly health services.

And WHO Country Representative Dr. Clement Lasuba commended Zambia’s progress, citing the successful endorsement of the Health Compact and the hosting of the Regional Committee Meeting in Lusaka as milestones achieved in the past year.

03/12/2025

Transforming Diagnosis at the Frontline: How Family Medicine and Technology are working in Health.

A mother arrives at Chilenje Level One Hospital in Lusaka fearing the worst, that she had lost her pregnancy. But thanks to a handheld ultrasound device, Dr. Zimba Lukonde was able to confirm her baby was alive.

This small, portable device - the Point-of-Care Ultrasound - among many other transformations, is adding to healthcare in Zambia.

Connecting to a phone or tablet, it allows a doctor to view internal organs and diagnose urgent conditions in real-time - right at the patient's bedside.

Dr. Zimba, trained through one of our partnerships with the Ministry of Health Zambia and the The University of Zambia -UNZA, is one of many health workers now using point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) to make faster, more accurate clinical decisions.

With the support of Seed Global Health, POCUS has become part of family medicine training and is spreading across Zambia, including recent training for 70 Zambian Defence Force health workers.

Each new health worker trained means more lifesaving care available to communities across the country.

POCUS is strengthening Zambia’s health system, one facility, one health worker, one patient at a time.

03/12/2025

MOH to conduct Lymphatic Filariasis MDA in Chibombo

THE Ministry of Health sets to conduct a Mass Drug Administration (MDA) programme for Lymphatic Filariasis (LF) in Chibombo District of Central Province.

Mass Drug Administration is the process of giving (administering) drugs to people in a certain community which might have been endemic with a disease in order to prevent them from being infected with that disease.

The Ministry has since appealed to all residents of Chibombo district to support the programme once it commences, as it aims and eliminating that disease.

The programme which is supported by Sightsavers is expected to run from 10th to18th December 2025.

The programme will cover all communities and ensure that more than 65 percent of eligible residents should be captured.

The expectation is that all stakeholders in the district would come on board and support the programme to achieve the intended objective which is lymphatic filiriasis elimination in that district.

The Ministry of Health has so far trained more than 40 health workers from some selected health facilities while another cohort will be trained by the end of this week.

Participants had converged in Kabwe town for the two-day training which worked as a refresher course for them.

The focus of the training was on the dangers of lymphatic filariastis and how to administer drugs to eligible persons in communities.

Chief Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) officer Frank Shamilimo explained that the Government through the Ministry of Health was working to eliminate lymphatic filiriasis in all endemic districts of Zambia.

Mr Shamilimo said the Government was working with Cooperating Partners like Sightsavers to implement that mammoth programme in Chibombo district.

Chibombo District has so far held five Mass Drug Administrations, since 2021 and this is in the spirit of ensuring successful eliminating lymphatic falariasis in the district.

Story and Pictures courtesy of: MOH – Media Team.

Ministry of Health Zambia

05/12/2025

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