Chongwe, Luangwa, Lusaka and Kafue in Lusaka Province, Chingola and Chililabombwe in Copperbelt Province and Mongu in Western Province.
Determined Resilient Empowered AIDS-Free, Mentored, and Safe Women (DREAMS) is a partnership to reduce HIV infections among adolescent girls and young women by helping them overcome the challenges of their lives and stay in school. The project aimed at supporting girls from impoverished communities to stay in school at key dropout points by making schools more girl-friendly and gender-equitable and by advocating to the private sector to expand scholarships for project participants.
In Zambia, A2HealthZ established DREAMS centers—drop-in “safe spaces” where cohorts of girls were mentored in life skills following an evidence-informed curriculum. Adolescent girls were encouraged to test for HIV and counseled on the risk of HIV infection and prevention techniques.
A2HealthZ believes the HIV/AIDS epidemic demands an accelerated, innovative, and flexible response grounded in safe, quality education for all, especially girls. With financial support from the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the DREAMS project promoted the importance of education within entire school communities (girls, boys, teachers, parents, community leaders) and at the same time worked to make schools more girl friendly, with better latrines and sanitary conditions, helped paying for school fees and learning materials, and pervasive pro-girl attitudes that promoted school attendance and empowered girls to resist gender-based violence.
15 girl-friendly safe spaces known as DREAMS Centers were established. Adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) are disproportionately affected by HIV, as social and cultural norms diminish their decision-making autonomy, affecting their physical and emotional health and raising their risk for infection. DREAMS activities, provided a series of Safe Spaces sessions, included biomedical services (e.g.,HIV testing service, family planning, and pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP); mental health; a school-based program initiative; digital literacy; parenting support to AGYW; economic strengthening and life skills development; and economic information. Mentorship was also provided to participants. Each project year, thousands of AGYW enrolled in Safe Spaces sessions and succeeded in completing, or “graduating” by attending the full series of sessions that were offered.
