Gender review: mainstreaming gender and aids in the development portfolio of the Norwegian Embassy in Zambia

This report is a joint gender and HIV/AIDS mainstreaming review, produced upon a request from the Norwegian Embassy in Lusaka. The target of the report is to see how gender and AIDS concerns could be better mainstreamed in the Embassy portfolio. Furthermore, four different programmes were selected for the review, covering relevant areas for cooperation.

The report indicates that gender inequalities exist at all levels in Zambia, and challenges remain critical and fundamental to the country’s achievement of its vision and goal on gender. On the other hand, the report notes that Zambia is one of the countries worst affected by the HIV pandemic in the world, where about one million Zambians are infected with HIV.

The report reveals that there were a number of opportunities lost in relation to gender and AIDS mainstreaming. Indeed, from the different programmes, there should be good opportunities for better synergies and learning. Accordingly, the report gives four key recommendations:

• internal organisation at the Embassy: responsibility placed at management level, and gender and AIDS competence should be secured
• programme level: selection and focus on one or two gender and AIDS mainstreaming topics
• programme level: main focus on one programme or sector (in addition to improved quality work on the others), such as environmental protection and conservation farming
• policy level: work to integrate the gender and AIDS aspects in the political dialogue with the government of Zambia and key development partners.