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In Zambia, the fight to combat AIDS has hit the streets
Nurse Janet Mvula leads the march.
She runs a health service at a large commercial farm near Lusaka
Getting the message across about AIDS
to York Farms' 800 workers is a daily challenge for her.
(Janet Mvula) Talking about *** itself alone,
it's not an easy job
It's a difficult one
First thing is that people are not even interested.
70% of the workforce in Zambia is found in agriculture
The growth of large-scale commercial farms
means awareness programs like this one reach people, especially women,
who were previously unaware of how AIDS is transmitted.
*** affects nearly one out of five women of working age in this country.
(Nigel Mumbi) We do worry in the sense that,
yah, long term it will have an impact
it will reduce the workforce,
it will reduce not only the workforce, but qualified labour.
Using props to get the message across,
is helped by a team of a hundred peer educators
These members of staff work alongside their colleagues to spread awareness about ***
Their training is part of a prevention project run by the International Labour Organisation
and supported by the Italian government
(Mpala Nkonkomalimba) It's a very inexpensive way of
educating people in a given workplace
by acting as role models
they have a very positive impact on behaviour change
Other activities also target workers in their villages
A football match played by community elders
draws a crowd and the curiosity of those wanting to know more about ***
The players may not look old,
but 38 years is the average life span in Zambia.
(Ngosa Chisupa) Due to awareness programmes
and the introduction of ARVs,
there is to a certain extent an improvement
in that at least the life expectancy is now extended
and at least there is more acceptance
that really as a country we need to move and make decisions.
At York Farms Janet is already on the move
making sure workers and the community have information about ***
and access to the best care she can provide.