Population Council Research that makes a difference

New Leadership at the Population Council's Zambia Office

The Population Council is pleased to announce the appointment of Jessica Price to head the Council's Zambia office

LUSAKA and NEW YORK (17 February 2012) — Price is a social scientist with expertise in HIV and reproductive health research, mainly in central and eastern Africa. She has been engaged in designing, implementing, and evaluating health interventions in sub-Saharan Africa since 1989.

Working closely with African government, academic, private-sector, and civil society institutions, Price has led large programs aimed at strategically introducing and scaling up new services and approaches in HIV prevention, care, and treatment and reproductive health. She provided overall leadership and management of national programs in Rwanda and oversaw a $15 million portfolio of grant-making and technical assistance to hospitals, primary health centers, districts, universities, community-based organizations, and others.

The Population Council's Zambia office has been delivering solutions that lead to better policies and programs for nearly 20 years. Today, key activities of the Council's Zambia office include:

• Expanding the evidence on comprehensive care for survivors of sexual violence in sub-Saharan Africa: The Council is leading a team of partners to reduce the incidence and impact of gender-based violence by strengthening the ability of the medical, legal, and justice sectors to care for survivors of sexual violence.
  
  
• Partnership for male circumcision: Achieving scale: To decrease the prevalence of HIV in Zambia, the Council and its partners are working to increase the availability and accessibility of safe, adult male circumcision services. The project also includes research, advocacy, and coordination activities to generate additional community support for male circumcision.
  
  
• Community Mobilization for Preventive Action (COMPACT): Council researchers are developing and determining the feasibility of "community compacts" as an innovative approach to preventing HIV in Zambian communities.
  
  
• Adolescent girls empowerment program: The Council is implementing and evaluating a program to provide 12,000 vulnerable girls in Zambia with tools to help them avoid early marriage, STIs and HIV, and unwanted pregnancy. 

---

About the Population Council
The Population Council confronts critical health and development issues—from stopping the spread of HIV to improving reproductive health and ensuring that young people lead full and productive lives. Through biomedical, social science, and public health research in 50 countries, we work with our partners to deliver solutions that lead to more effective policies, programs, and technologies that improve lives around the world. Established in 1952 and headquartered in New York, the Council is a nongovernmental, nonprofit organization governed by an international board of trustees.

###

Media contact
pubinfo@popcouncil.org; +1 212 339 0500