TALC is a group of member organizations formed in 2005 to lobby for equitable and sustainable access to affordable, quality HIV treatment, support and care in Zambia. The TALC mandate is membership based in nature, comprehensive in its coverage with a focus on prioritised strategies that have proved effective in the past.
The HIV and AIDS pandemic remains the greatest threat to sustainable human development in Zambia, with a prevalence rate of 14.3% and currently rated the seventh highest prevalence in the world. The epidemic has a gender bias with more women at 16.1% than men (12.3%) living with HIV. Similarly the country’s our urban centers have a high prevalence rate standing at 20% than rural areas that account for 10%. Estimates indicate that 226 new infections occur each day in Zambia while new infections for children (peadiatrics) occur among children daily. HIV and AIDS has since turned into a major threat to national development and human survival in this poor-resource country of 12.5 million inhabitants.
The Government of Zambia has since declared the epidemic a national emergency that requires an emergency concerted response from both those living infected or affected by this condition to use their individual or organizational comparative advantage to participate in the response.
HIV/AIDS raises many issues because of its complex, all embracing and multi-dimensional nature. It therefore needs to be understood in relation to numerous scientific, social, legal, political, economic, cultural, traditional and other parameters.
However, a focus on evidence-based results in HIV and AIDS response will not result in the desired outcomes if we don’t have a strong political and people commitment to doing what it takes to fight the epidemic. The epidemic in Zambia is being driven by a number of drivers including multiple and concurrent partnerships, low condom use, low levels of male circumcision, mother to child transmission of HIV in addition to gender inequalities, gender based violence, poverty, mobility and migration. All of these drivers are possible to achieve once we commit ourselves to action, and in particular address social and cultural norms that are barriers in our response to HIV and AIDS.
For this reason, Treatment Advocacy and Literacy Campaign (TALC), in collaboration with member organizations in seven of Zambia’s nine provinces, other stakeholders and development partners shortly upon inception in August 2005 introduced Treatment Literacy activities and programmes to be carried out in all of the seven Provincial Hubs to support the implementation of TALC programme areas anchored on the organizational two-thronged mandate of Treatment Literacy and Treatment Advocacy, including Policy Advocacy.
