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Poverty & Hunger

Republic of

Zambia

In the early years of the 21st Century

Description: Description: Zambia

CAUTION:  The following links and accompanying text have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in Zambia in the early years of the 21st Century.  Some of these links may lead to websites that present allegations that are unsubstantiated, misleading or even false.   No attempt has been made to validate their authenticity or to verify their content.

HOW TO USE THIS WEBPAGE

Students

If you are looking for material to use in a term-paper, you are advised to scan the postings on this page and others to see which aspects of poverty are of particular interest to you.  You might be interested in exploring the relationship between distribution of labor and per-capita GDP, for example.  Perhaps your paper could focus on life expectancy or infant mortality.  Other factors of interest might be unemployment, literacy, access to basic services, etc.  On the other hand, you might choose to include some of the possible outgrowths of poverty such as Human Trafficking, Street Children, or even Prostitution.  There is a lot to the subject of Poverty.  Scan other countries as well as this one.  Draw comparisons between activity in adjacent countries and/or regions.  Meanwhile, check out some of the Term-Paper resources that are available on-line.

Teachers

Check out some of the Resources for Teachers attached to this website.

*** ARCHIVES ***

The World Factbook - Zambia

U.S. Central Intelligence Agency CIA

www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/za.html

[accessed 17 November 2020]

World Factbook website has moved to ---> www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/zambia/

[accessed 11 January 2021]

Despite recent strong economic growth and its status as a lower middle-income country, widespread and extreme rural poverty and high unemployment levels remain significant problems, made worse by a high birth rate, a relatively high HIV/AIDS burden, by market-distorting agricultural and energy policies, and growing government debt.

GDP - per capita (PPP): $4,000 (2017 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:

agriculture: 54.8%

industry: 9.9%

services: 35.3% (2017 est.)

Unemployment rate: 15% (2008 est.)

Population below poverty line: 54.4% (2015 est.)

Maternal mortality rate: 213 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 56 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 53.6 years

Drinking water source: improved: total: 67.5% of population

Physicians density: 0.16 physicians/1,000 population (2016)

Sanitation facility access: improved: total: 44.1% of population

Electricity access: electrification - total population: 33% (2016)

The Borgen Project - Zambia

borgenproject.org/category/zambia/

[accessed 21 March 2021]

The Borgen Project works with U.S. leaders to utilize the United States’ platform behind efforts toward improving living conditions for the world’s poor.  It is an innovative, national campaign that is working to make poverty a focus of U.S. foreign policy.  It believes that leaders of the most powerful nation on earth should be doing more to address global poverty. From ending segregation to providing women with the right to vote, nearly every wrong ever righted in history was achieved through advocacy. The Borgen Project addresses the big picture, operating at the political level advancing policies and programs that improve living conditions for those living on less than $1 per day.

~ The Remarkable People Of Zambia

borgenproject.org/people-of-zambia/

~ Ecovillages: The New Generation Of Poverty Reduction

borgenproject.org/ecovillages/

~ Colalife In Zambia: Preventing Diarrheal Deaths

borgenproject.org/colalife-in-zambia/

~ Family Legacy Combats Child Poverty In Zambia

borgenproject.org/child-poverty-in-zambia/

~ Improving Healthcare In Zambia

borgenproject.org/improving-healthcare-in-zambia/

~ Homelessness In Zambia: The Negative Side Of Urbanization

borgenproject.org/homelessness-in-zambia-the-negative-side-of-urbanization/

~ Zambia’s Mining Industry Strikes Gold

borgenproject.org/zambias-mining-industry/

~ 7 Facts About Tuberculosis In Zambia

borgenproject.org/tuberculosis-in-zambia/

~ Ending Child Marriage In Zambia

borgenproject.org/ending-child-marriage-in-zambia/

Empowering rural women in Zambia to move out of poverty

World Bank, 7 July 2021

www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2021/07/07/empowering-rural-women-in-zambia-to-move-out-of-poverty?cid=ECR_E_NewsletterWeekly_EN_EXT&deliveryName=DM110031

[accessed 9 July 2021]

National data confirmed that investments in human capital development—health, education, and social protection for the poorest and most vulnerable households—were critical to national economic growth. According to national household data and World Bank analyses, when girls went to secondary school, they earned almost 100 percent more than their peers who did not. And when women worked outside of agriculture, their earnings increased by roughly 35 percent. 

Based on this knowledge, Zambia made it a priority to help more girls and women reach their potential. With support from IDA, the Girls’ Education and Women’s Empowerment and Livelihoods (GEWEL) Program was created. The project works to increase access to livelihood support for women and access to secondary education for disadvantaged adolescent girls in extremely poor households in selected districts.

With the productive grant she received from the GEWEL program, Ms. Mwamba bought three goats and used the remainder of the money to buy rice. She began selling rice in her rural community and has been able to successfully improve the quality of life for her family.

ENERGY for Africa : The Power to Industrialize and Reach Zero Poverty

PD Lawton, African Agenda, 16 May 2021

africanagenda.net/energy-for-africa-the-power-to-industrialize-and-reach-zero-poverty/

[accessed 23 May 2021]

EDGAR LUNGU`S ZAMBIA TO POWER THE FUTURE -- Under the presidency of Edgar Lungu steps were taken to fast track a nuclear power program. In 2015-16 Zambia lost power capacity and the economy dropped by 40%.This was a result of prolonged regional drought which made hydropower ineffective.

As key to initiating the nuclear program, government started the Centre for Nuclear Science and Technology which is a vehicle for training personnel who will operate the plant and will advance Zambia in science and technology.

Growing out of poverty through vegetable gardens.

Tigana Chileshe, World Vision Zambia Communications Officer, 22 December 2020

www.wvi.org/stories/zambia/growing-out-poverty-through-vegetable-gardens

[accessed 23 December 2020]

Davison Muwele, 58, is a passionate man; as a lead farmer, he is driven by a desire to see his community members grow out of poverty like he is doing. So he teaches and trains anyone interested in learning how to farm vegetables for profit.

So far, he has trained 29 families in Makaba village in farming God’s way, and they all now have gardens, tapping water from the Makaba dam through to canals set up by World Vision.

“When we picked Davison to train him as a lead farmer, we saw a man who was determined to impact his community.” She says, “What’s even more impressive is his dedication to empowering vulnerable women such as widows, and families through training.” She adds.

The women that Davison has trained are beginning to realise their way out of abject poverty.

‘Poverty is the root of disorders in the country’ The Perspective with Edward Bwalya Phiri

The Mast, 13 December 2020

[Long URL]

[accessed 13 December 2020]

Zambia is among nations with a relatively high poverty rate in the world. Habitat for Humanity reported that, “Despite Zambia having one of the fastest growing economies, it remains one of the world’s poorest countries. Currently, close to 64 per cent of Zambians live under $2 a day and the majority of those who earn more barely make ends-meet. Indeed, over 40 per cent of them are considered to live in extreme poverty [under $1.25 (now $1.9) a day].”

Further, the 2019 Labour Force Survey (LFS) Report by the Zambia Statistics Agency [ZamStats] states that out of a total working age population of 9,706,101, only 2,995,103 were employed translating into a 30.9 per cent employment rate.

Unemployment is rife among the youth, especially, where only 17.9 per cent (about 1,828,753) are employed. Perhaps that explains why youths are used as political mercenaries, for them it’s a way to earn a living.

Apart from the unemployment and the bleak status of other variables, access to electricity is unacceptably low. According to USAID, at least 31 per cent of the population has access to the commodity. While in urban areas access to electricity is at 67 per cent, in the rural areas only a paltry 4 per cent has access to the commodity.

The World Bank in Zambia

www.worldbank.org/en/country/zambia/overview

[accessed 21 April 2021]

The World Bank has partnered with Zambia since 1955 to support the country's development projects, including mining, infrastructure and health.

Looking back a few years …

Advameg, Inc., Encyclopedia of the Nations

www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Africa/Zambia-ECONOMY.html

[accessed 13 December 2020]

The Zambian economy was in a precarious state during the 1990s. High inflation, severe drought, declining export prices, and failed economic policies all took their toll ... The impact of inflation on the poor, the middle class, and business eroded public support for the government's reform policies.

In 2000 Zambia became eligible for $3.8 billion in debt relief under the IMF/World Bank Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative.

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