Overview
USAID’s approach to reducing rural poverty in Zambia is based on three pillars: enhancing the business enabling environment, strengthening rural enterprises, and sustainably managing Zambia’s natural resource base. These programs also contribute to improving water, sanitation, and hygiene services and improving nutritional outcomes.
USAID has embarked on an ambitious journey to partner more substantively with both the Government of the Republic of Zambia and community based organizations, engage Zambia’s civil society, and leverage private-sector partnerships where priorities overlap. USAID strives to engage new, local, and underutilized partners; enhance their skills and potential; and support them to take the lead on identifying solutions to some of Zambia’s most significant development challenges.
Enabling Businesses to Grow and Thrive
USAID recognizes the important role businesses play in raising incomes, providing livelihood opportunities, and reducing poverty in Zambia. USAID supports small and medium-sized enterprises by addressing key investment constraints: access to finance, business management skills, technology utilization, and access to markets. USAID’s goal is to raise small businesses’ productivity and increase their ability to grow and create new jobs.
USAID also supports the Zambian government to improve the business enabling environment in Zambia, including developing and scaling up digital solutions. USAID promotes using market-based approaches for more sustainable, market-driven alternatives to donor resources in energy, eco-tourism, agriculture and water, sanitation and hygiene.
Expanding Markets and Trade
Through Prosper Africa, USAID engages private and public sector organizations, business and industry associations, and financial institutions to deepen regional economic integration and promote trade and investment between the United States and Zambia and regionally. Working with the Zambian government and private sector associations, USAID helps to streamline and expedite commercial and trade processes to catalyze economic growth for the country. USAID investments help position Zambia as a commercial and economic hub for the Southern African region and markets further afield through improvements to Zambia’s trade and business policies and regulations, enhanced customs and border control systems, and promoting catalytic financing to boost trade and bring more foreign direct investment to Zambia.
Powering Communities' Prosperity
Reliable electricity helps to drive economic growth. However, 85 percent of electricity in Zambia comes from hydropower, which is particularly affected by climate change-induced droughts and flooding, causing power blackouts in all parts of the country. Through the Power Africa initiative, USAID seeks to increase the generation of, and access to, clean energy sources, particularly in rural and off-grid spaces. Power Africa helps to attract private sector investment in the electricity sector by expanding generation, increasing connections, and improving the enabling environment. USAID’s efforts are particularly focused on interventions that catalyze investments in other sectors, such as providing solar energy to health clinics and connecting agribusinesses to off-grid power solutions.
Improving Natural Resource Management
Poaching, illegal logging and charcoal production, over-harvesting, and habitat degradation threaten Zambia’s rich forests and wildlife. USAID is partnering with private sector actors to find market solutions to Zambia’s environmental challenges. By combining sustainable management approaches for forests and wildlife with profitable and climate-smart agriculture, USAID works to alleviate the poverty that serves as one of the main drivers of natural resource degradation. USAID also supports market-based approaches to expand availability and use of alternative clean energy sources to address the over-reliance on charcoal that drives deforestation and forest loss. USAID supports the Zambian government to improve the management of natural resources, providing a long-term, sustainable platform for broad-based economic growth and poverty reduction in rural areas. This is accomplished through community- and partnership-based natural resource management models that position communities as principal partners and beneficiaries.
Improving Access to Water and Sanitation
Zambians need access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene services to be healthy and productive. Out of a population of 19.6 million, an estimated 6.3 million (32%) of Zambians lack access to basic water services and 10.4 million (53%) lack access to basic sanitation services. USAID investments are designed to improve access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene services as part of the multidisciplinary Most Critical Days Program, ensuring that nutrition gains are amplified. In order to advance learning and build strong evidence towards this approach, USAID supports the research and evaluation agenda of the Most Critical Days Program. Recognizing the role of service providers, USAID also supports the Zambian government and water supply and sanitation companies to access financing so they can improve the quality and reach of safe water, sanitation, and hygiene service delivery by improving their internal efficiencies, domestic resources mobilization, and creditworthiness.
Improving Nutrition for Children
Undernutrition is still the underlying cause of 45 percent of child deaths and 20 percent of maternal deaths. A 2022 USAID survey found the stunting prevalence of children 0-23 months old significantly increased from 30.1percent at baseline in 2019 to 33.7 percent in 2022. Further, the percentage of households’ experiencing severe hunger rose from 43.4 percent to 46.7 percent. Among the causes of stunting is teenage pregnancies, poor nutrition, repeated infection, and inadequate psychosocial stimulation. These children’s learning can be hindered, limiting their ability to participate fully in their country’s social, economic, and political life. USAID supports the Zambian government’s 1,000 Most Critical Days Program to reduce stunting in 30 districts. Good nutrition is most critical to physical and mental development during the first 1,000 days of life after birth. USAID’s support for private sector-led innovations and investments in large scale food fortification improve the availability, access to, and consumption of critical nutrient-dense, affordable, and safe nutritious foods. USAID also works to improve the Zambian government’s ability to plan and advocate for nutrition programs, and to learn and measure impact. USAID works with communities and families to ensure health, nutrition, food security, and economic growth are integrated into all activities. Special attention is given to expanding opportunities for women living in extreme poverty to become producers, service providers, and entrepreneurs.
Bobby Neptune