27/11/2025
These findings are a serious reminder that we cannot afford to slow down our prevention efforts. A 23% annual reduction is ambitious but absolutely necessary if we are to reach the 2030 target. This means strengthening community engagement, scaling up HIV testing, ensuring access to PrEP, promoting consistent condom use, and addressing social and economic drivers that fuel new infections.
Copperbelt and Lusaka being major hotspots shows that targeted, data driven interventions must be prioritized.
Together, we can turn these numbers around.
Copperbelt biggest contributor to new HIV cases, Lusaka leads at district level - MoH
ZAMBIA risks missing its 2030 target of reducing new HIV infections to fewer than 15,000 annually unless the country accelerates its prevention efforts and cuts new cases by at least 23 percent every year, the Ministry of Health has warned.
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Presenting the latest data at the ongoing 2025 HIV Prevention Symposium in Lusaka yesterday, Ministry of Health HIV Prevention Programme lead Dr Chimika Phiri said the country is currently recording about 30,000 new infections a year which is double the target Zambia hopes to reduce annually by 2030.
Dr Phiri revealed that Copperbelt Province remains the biggest contributor to new HIV cases while Lusaka leads at district level.
He stressed that understanding drivers in these hotspots, ranging from population density to social and economic dynamics is crucial for designing targeted prevention programmes.
“Our ambition was to bring new HIV infections down to under 15,000 by the end of 2026, but the data shows we are off course. To get back on track for the 2030 target, we must drastically step up prevention. What has been a 9.5 percent annual reduction is simply not enough, we now need at least a 23 percent yearly decline,” said Dr Phiri.
He noted that adults and young people account for 40 percent of all new infections, underscoring the need for interventions that meaningfully reach s*xually active populations.
While Zambia has expanded access to oral Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PREP) as a key HIV prevention tool, uptake remains significantly below expectations.
This year, 111,753 people were initiated on oral PrEP, far short of the 400,000 target.
“PrEP is a powerful prevention measure, but we are nowhere near where we should be. We also introduced long-acting injectable PrEP, but so far only around 5,700 individuals have opted for it. We need to diversify, promote and scale up these choices,” Dr Phiri stated.
He noted that voluntary medical male circumcision, once a high performing pillar of Zambia’s HIV prevention strategy, has slowed sharply since the country phased out nationwide campaigns.
Dr Phiri also highlighted gender-based violence, s*xually transmitted infections and limited access to care as key drivers that continue to fuel new infections.
“Zambia’s progress towards ending AIDS by 2030 depends heavily on a renewed and coordinated effort across government, communities and implementing partners. We must innovate, accelerate and sustain our prevention strategies,” stated Dr Phiri.
By Sharon Zulu
Kalemba November 27, 2025
