U.S. Embassy Chargé d'Affaires, a.i., Mich Coker's Remarks
U.S. Peace Corps Zambia Documentary Launch
Chief of Mission Residence Lusaka, Zambia
(As prepared for delivery)
Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn
Good evening, and welcome.
It is an honor to open our doors tonight for a film that belongs, in the truest sense, to two peoples: the people of Zambia and the people of the United States.
When Peace Corps Volunteers first arrived in Zambia in 1994, they entered communities not simply to work, but to live, listen, learn, and serve alongside the Zambian people.
The Peace Corps was created by President John F. Kennedy, in cooperation with Congress, to fulfill a particular purpose: to promote world peace and friendship by sharing skills where they are requested, to help people in other countries better understand Americans, and to help Americans better understand the people, customs, and cultures of other nations. Today, the Peace Corps continues to put purpose, passion, and skills to work for America and the world.
Peace Corps is an independent agency with a mission that sits apart from the day-to-day work of diplomacy. That separation is deliberate, and it is a strength. It allows Volunteers to be welcomed in communities not as representatives or advocates of any policy or any moment, but as neighbors and friends. It is precisely because Peace Corps stays close to people and apart from politics, that its work endures across time and across administrations. As your host this evening, I am proud to honor that distinct mission.
Peace Corps' strength is also demonstrated through personal relationships.
It manifests itself when an American Volunteer learns a Zambian language.
When a teacher and Volunteer work together in a classroom.
When a health worker and Volunteer travel to a community together.
When farmers exchange ideas and knowledge.
When families invite someone from another country into the rhythms of their everyday lives.
And, often, those relationships endure and extend across decades.
That is the story this film captures.
In 2005, another important chapter began when Peace Corps Zambia launched a dedicated HIV/AIDS project with support from the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief--more commonly known as PEPFAR.
Over the two decades that followed, Zambia mounted one of the world's most consequential national responses to HIV.
Today, Zambia has achieved--and surpassed--the UNAIDS 95-95-95 treatment targets, with the most recent national figures reporting a measure of 98-98-97 in 2025.
This achievement belongs first and foremost to Zambia: to its national leadership, to its health professionals, to community health workers, to civil society organizations, to families, and to people living with HIV.
The United States is proud that Peace Corps, the Department of State, CDC, the U.S. military, former USAID, and generations of American professionals and Volunteers have spent decades standing alongside the Zambian people to advance the goals established and supported by PEPFAR. In doing so, we have partnered with our Zambian brothers and sisters to save more than 1.3 million lives and to increase the average life expectancy in Zambia by roughly 20 years.
And Peace Corps has played an indispensable role in this effort.
This year, as the United States marks 250 years since its founding, we are reflecting on what America has to offer the world. Peace Corps is one of the clearest answers. It represents America at its best: service without expectation, curiosity, humility, and the belief that friendship between peoples is the foundation of peace. Sharing, and celebrating, this foundational value with the world is a fitting way to honor 250 years.
The people you will meet in this film are part of that history.
But this film is about more than history. It is also about the future.
So, as we join each other this evening to commemorate 30 years of friendship and cooperation, let us also look forward.
Peace Corps Zambia continues to work alongside the Government and people of Zambia in health, education, agriculture, environment, and other sectors identified in close collaboration with our Zambian partners.
As Zambia's priorities evolve, so too must our partnership.
We welcome the continuing dialogue between Peace Corps and our partners in the Ministries of Health, Education, and Green Economy and Environment about how our relationships can be strengthened, and how our shared understanding of the work can guide the next chapter.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
What began in 1994 was never intended to be a short story.
More than thirty years later, Zambians and Americans are still writing it together.
On behalf of the United States and the American people, thank you to the Government of Zambia, to the communities that have welcomed Volunteers into their homes, to the counterparts who have worked beside them in Zambia's fields and rural clinics, to PEPFAR and our health partners, and to every Volunteer who has accepted, and honored, the privilege and responsibility of serving here.
And, finally, thank you especially to the Zambian people for the friendship you have extended to generations of Americans. It is our sincere honor to stand with you.
I hope you enjoy the film.
Photo: U.S. Embassy Chargé d'Affaires, a.i. Mich Coker (right) welcomes Permanent Secretary for Resettlement Mavis Nkomeshya (center), as U.S. Peace Corps Zambia Country Director Natalie Gill-Mensah (left) looks on.
