Today, Deputy Administrator Isobel Coleman announced that the United States, through USAID, intends to provide $66.8 million to Zambia to address the current drought, strengthen food security, and build resilience in the country across a variety of sectors.
Zambia’s crippling drought has caused crop losses between 60 and 95 percent across vast swathes of the country, triggering an 83 percent surge in maize prices. USAID will provide $20 million in urgent humanitarian assistance through implementing partners as an immediate response to the severe drought afflicting Zambia, complementing USAID’s existing $9.5 million food security assistance in the country to drive inclusive, long term agricultural-led economic growth. Working with Congress, USAID also plans to invest an additional $5 million to increase the long term food security of Zambia to strengthen its agricultural productivity, improve nutrition, and help producers manage future shocks.
Despite these immense challenges, smallholder farmers are demonstrating incredible resilience, continuing to produce food for their families and communities. This assistance will help them, providing food, market-based assistance, and agricultural assistance to over 460,000 people in Zambia affected by the drought.
For over a decade, Feed the Future, the U.S. government's global food security initiative, has been a champion in the fight against hunger, poverty, and malnutrition, working to build sustainable and resilient food systems. USAID is leading an effort called Feed the Future Accelerator to areas of both high need and tremendous opportunity. Zambia, with its committed government, dynamic private sector, and high potential for agriculture-led growth, is at the forefront of this effort. In collaboration with partner countries, Feed the Future Accelerator will drive inclusive agricultural transformation while also contributing to regional trade and market linkages, supporting the development of a regional breadbasket.
In support of these efforts to fight hunger, today USAID and the Zambian government unveiled their collaborative Global Food Security Strategy, which recognizes the undeniable link between food security and external shocks like conflicts, trade disruptions, or extreme weather events. The strategy focuses on investments in drought-tolerant seeds, improved water management practices, and advanced weather forecasting. Incorporating such global best practices will expand market-led solutions to strengthen food systems and drive private agricultural sector growth, putting financial, digital, and productive tools into the hands of Zambian entrepreneurs. These measures aim to mitigate future risks and reduce the need for emergency assistance in the future, fostering long-term progress.
In addition to the funding to support Zambia as it responds to the current drought, USAID intends to provide $32.3 million to continue to build resilience across various sectors in Zambia. $11 million will go towards ongoing activities that support resilience, and $9.3 million will support new and ongoing water, sanitation, and hygiene programming. Macroeconomic stability also builds resilience, and $8.5 million was announced to help create the policy space to respond to and recover from shocks, and to support a policy environment that fuels job and income-generating business, trade, and investment. Finally, recognizing the role that good governance plays in a resilient society, USAID intends to provide $3.5 million to support public financial management reform priorities and domestic revenue mobilization.