A community protected against HIV-AIDS, malaria and basic health

What is the FOOTBALL FOR HEALTH IN ZAMBIA project?

Red Deporte has been working in Zambia since 1999, in the outskirts of its capital, Lusaka. Our strategy consists of using sports as a connection point with the most vulnerable children and youth: boys and girls highly exposed to HIV-AIDS, exploitation, drugs or alcohol, from an early age. As far as girls are concerned, there is the added risk of early pregnancy, a circumstance that conditions them for life, and even falling into prostitution networks.

The natural attraction that sport generates makes it the ideal place to work on the empowerment of young people, creating a safe environment and belonging to a community of friends and positive values that will guide them throughout their lives.

Red Deporte has been working since 2021, together with the UEFA Foundation for Children, on a health education program in three areas: HIV-AIDS prevention, malaria and basic health and hygiene. The playing field is transformed into a learning classroom, generating educational sessions on health. Thirty monitors-trainers have been trained to conduct sports activities and events aimed at promoting community health.

With the support of the UEFA Foundation and Salesian Missions, Red Deporte is building a reference sports center in Lusaka, which will host more than two thousand participants in our programs every week.

In Lubufu, a city in northern Zambia, we began work in 2023 to improve school performance, community health and vocational training, all through sport.