Zambia

Canada's Commitment
Results
Country Profile

Canada's Commitment

Canada and Zambia have been working together since 1964 on development programs for the benefit of the people of Zambia.

The Government of Zambia's successive national development plans have continuously focused on poverty reduction and improved access to basic services. This commitment has resulted in declining poverty levels from 73 percent in 1998 to 64 percent in 2006.

In order to support the Government of Zambia's National Development Plan most effectively, Canada, along with sixteen other cooperating partners, signed the Joint Assistance Strategy for Zambia in 2007. This strategy ensures that donors align their efforts with Zambia's national priorities and focus resources on locally identified needs.

The current Zambia bilateral program is aligned with CIDA's African Health Systems Initiative, a ten-year $450 million commitment announced by Prime Minister Harper that aims to strengthen health systems in sub-Saharan Africa. The Zambia bilateral program seeks to build government capacity to effectively manage and deliver quality basic health services that are as affordable and accessible to families as possible. CIDA's programming will improve child health in Zambia by increasing the number and quality of front-line health workers and ensuring that more health services reach underserved regions of the country. Gender equality remains a priority within the Government of Zambia's National Development Plan, and continues to be an important crosscutting issue for CIDA's programming.

CIDA also supports Zambia's development through its pan-African partnership and multilateral programs.

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Results

CIDA's support is helping the Zambia Ministry of Health to manage and deliver basic health care to underserved areas in the country. The Ministry has added over 1,000 new health workers annually, renovated health training schools, and improved working conditions for employees willing to stay in remote areas. Our focus on child health has helped to train nearly 450 community health workers and promoters in integrated management of child illnesses, leading to better assessments and treatment of children with health problems such as respiratory illnesses, diarrhoea and malnutrition. Collective donor support in health procurement and distribution systems is helping to ensure that much-needed medical supplies are delivered and available at the community level.

Thanks to the concerted efforts of donors in the health sector, Zambia saw the following progress in health between 2001 and 2007:

• Infant mortality fell by 26 percent, from 95 to 70 per 1,000 live births
• Under-five child mortality fell by 25 percent, from 158 to 119 per 1,000 live births
• Maternal mortality reduced by 23 percent, from 763 to 591 per 100,000 live births

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Country Profile

Although Zambia is a low-income country, it has long been recognized for its economic and political potential.

It is an important influence in regional peacemaking and has had a history of political stability since independence in 1964.

Zambia has adopted a number of poverty reduction objectives to guide its development efforts and those of its development partners. Among the country's top priorities is ridding itself of corruption, and considerable progress has been made in this regard.

In the past few years, Zambia has recorded positive economic growth following two decades of stagnation and recession. Factors contributing to this new growth include a rise in copper prices (the country's most significant export commodity), growing investment in the agricultural sector, as well as general improvements in economic governance. The international financial crisis and a drop in copper prices are now moderating growth forecasts. Zambia qualified for debt relief in 2005 after successfully meeting the conditions of the International Monetary Fund's Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative.

Despite its tremendous potential, Zambia still faces significant development challenges in the future. It is one of the poorest countries in the world, ranked 163 out of 177 in the United Nations Development Fund's Human Development Report 2007-2008.