History
In 2000, Catholic Relief Services began operations in Zambia as a small, privately-funded program working with four dioceses. However, a variety of shocks over the past two decades—including floods, severe droughts and a devastating AIDS epidemic—have led to a dramatic increase in the scale and scope of CRS' operations. Throughout these challenges, CRS has worked together with the local Church and development partners to deliver programs aimed at strengthening communities' capacity to withstand shocks and respond to the underlying causes of chronic hunger, poverty and ill health.
Partners
Foods Resource Bank (FRB)
The
Foods Resource Bank (FRB) works to alleviate global hunger through support of smallholder agriculture, often in the most remote and poorest regions of the world. With funding from FRB, Catholic Relief Services is piloting an agro-enterprise model that will build farmers' skills to engage effectively with markets. Based on CRS' research which shows that farmers' groups require
five complementary sets of skills for successful market engagement, the Farmers Advance through Market Engagement (FAME) project will provide training in group management, savings and finance, marketing, innovation, and sustainable production. The project will also introduce CRS' Farmbook, an innovative mobile solution that helps farmers create business plans and calculate their profits.
Formed in 1970, the Churches Health Association of Zambia (CHAZ) is an interdenominational umbrella organization that coordinates and supports the activities of faith-based health providers in Zambia. CHAZ's membership includes 36 hospitals, 81 rural health centers, 9 training schools, and 29 community-based organizations. Since 2004, Catholic Relief Services has worked with CHAZ under the PEPFAR-funded
AIDSRelief project to build the capacity of local health facilities to provide quality HIV care and treatment. Now, under the
AIDSRelief Transition project, CRS is providing mentorship and technical support to CHAZ within a well-established transition framework designed to strengthen capacity and ultimately transfer leadership of
AIDSRelief to CHAZ and local partners.
Programs
Agriculture
Since 2002, Catholic Relief Services has supported smallholder farmers in Zambia to sustainably increase and diversify agricultural production for improved food security, nutrition and livelihoods. A recognized leader in the sector, CRS managed the $36.5 million dollar, USAID-funded C-FAARM project, which enabled nearly 15,000 vulnerable households to achieve greater resiliency and food security. Currently, CRS is introducing an innovative agro-enterprise model to build farmers' skills to engage with markets equitably, profitably and sustainably so that farm families can earn basic income for food, products and services. CRS is also using technology to link farmers with the latest market information and business-development services.
Civil Society and Governance
Catholic Relief Services is working together with Church partners and local communities to advocate for mining policies and practices that promote sustainable development in Zambia. The Zambia Extractives Initiative project has successfully established the "Publish What You Pay" coalition which monitors mining companies' activities to ensure they respect national regulations on environmental management, land displacement and tax compliance. CRS exposed the noncompliance of certain mining companies by producing three video documentaries. In response, individual and roundtable advocacy meetings with members of parliament produced changes to tighten the tax regime.
Health
Catholic Relief Services is supporting innovative, community-based approaches to improve health and nutrition in Zambia. With funding from USAID, CRS piloted the
Food-by-Prescription model to improve palliative care clients' outcomes through nutrition assessment and counseling, and, where appropriate, prescription of therapeutic foods. CRS has also trained over 400 community health workers in rehabilitation of malnourished children. Additionally, in partnership with John Hopkins University and Zambia's Ministry of Health, CRS has introduced an evidence-based psychotherapy model, "Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy," into existing community-based programs to help children overcome trauma due to the loss of a parent, sexual violence and other traumatic events.
Catholic Relief Services is one of the leading providers of support to faith-based institutions for health in Zambia, and is a major partner of the United States Government in the area of HIV and AIDS multi-sectoral programming. CRS leads the nationwide AIDSRelief Transition project, which is building the capacity of 19 local treatment facilities to deliver lifesaving care and treatment to thousands of Zambians living with HIV. As of September 2011, AIDSRelief-supported sites in Zambia had provided antiretroviral therapy to 60,041 clients and care to 96,427. Additionally, through the STEPS OVC project, CRS is strengthening communities' capacity to care for children orphaned or made vulnerable due to the AIDS epidemic.
Microfinance
Savings and Internal Lending Communities (SILC), a savings-led microfinance approach, provide a safe, accessible system for the rural poor to save and increase incomes and obtain loans. In Zambia, Catholic Relief Services currently supports 6,332 SILC members with combined savings of $120,000, and is pioneering a commercially sustainable model to train and certify local Private Service Providers (PSP). The
PSP model offers an innovative market-based strategy that enables local entrepreneurs to expand and sustain fee-based services in rural areas. CRS experience shows that communities that pay-for-SILC services through PSPs achieve greater resilience than subsidized SILC support.
Capacity Strengthening
Catholic Relief Services works through local partners to deliver quality development programs, which are relevant to the local context and sustainable. CRS has partnered with over 40 local institutions in Zambia to implement programs in agriculture, microfinance, governance, health and HIV, while simultaneously strengthening the institutional capacity of partners to manage programs on their own. CRS conducts regular trainings and provides partners ongoing support to develop sound systems for financial management, human resources, information technology, supply chain management, monitoring and evaluation.
