Zambia is one of the world’s poorest countries and ranked 165 th out of 177 on the Human Development Index. Poverty and food insecurity are widespread in both rural and urban areas, and the country remains extremely vulnerable to recurring natural disasters, including floods, drought and animal disease.
Food production levels vary widely from year to year. Food security is fragile because subsistence farmers depend on rainfall and traditional hoe cultivation, and even in years of national food surplus, many subsistence farmers or households often struggle.
The lack of proper infrastructure, inadequate provision of inputs, poor access to markets, and the slow pace of change in attitudes towards crop and livelihood diversification also continue to undermine farming capacity.
Zambia enjoyed a good harvest in 2009, including a maize surplus. While the harvest will help to improve overall food security, tens of thousands of people will still require food assistance due to the localised impact of floods and because many of the poorest and most vulnerable people will not be able to access sufficient food, even though staple food prices have fallen from their very high 2008 levels.
A Zambia Vulnerability Assessment Committee survey found that around 100,000 people in 7 flood-affected districts would require assistance. While the global economic crisis is likely to lead to greater unemployment, particularly in the vital mining industry, which could leave even more people vulnerable to food insecurity.
The HIV/AIDS pandemic has exacerbated food insecurity levels and contributed to a decline in socioeconomic activity. HIV/AIDS is also both a cause and a consequence of household food insecurity in Zambia . Around 17% of adults aged 15-49 years are HIV positive and life expectancy is only 37 years. HIV/AIDS undermines the capacity of people in most rural areas to produce enough food for their families. Malnutrition is present to varying degrees in most communities nationwide.
Standard national statistics for malnutrition levels amongst under-fives are 5 percent wasting, 28 percent underweight and 47 percent stunting.
WFP is working to connect farmers in Zambia to markets through the Purchase for Progress initiative. Learn more
The main goal of WFP’s country programme is to strengthen the capability of the government to provide social safety nets to assist hungry poor households, particularly those affected by HIV/AIDS.
Food assistance is used to improve primary school children’s access to basic education, especially girls and orphans; to boost the nutritional status of, and reduce malnutrition-related mortality among, chronically malnourished children, expectant and nursing mothers and people living with HIV/AIDS; and enhance the food security of hungry-poor households in areas vulnerable to natural disasters.
Under the protracted relief and recovery operation, WFP also provides assistance to HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis patients, mother-and-child health clinics, orphans and other vulnerable children and beneficiaries under food-for-assets projects. In addition, WFP school-feeding activities currently provide daily meals to over 126,000 schoolchildren.
WFP also provides food assistance to 45,500 refugees from both Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo hosted by the Zambian Government. Along with providing rations in the camps, WFP will – in collaboration with IOM, UNHCR and other agencies – continue to assist the voluntary repatriation exercise.
Local Purchasing: The government has asked WFP to purchase Zambian grown commodities as much as possible, to support the poverty reduction strategy aimed at boosting private agriculture production. Efforts are made to buy from small-scale farmers as well.
Local purchases provide a market incentive for local agriculture and the development of post-marketing systems and infrastructure. They also provide a cost-effective source of food aid commodities for WFP activities in the region. Between 2002 and 2008, WFP purchased over 360,000 tons of food commodities in Zambia at a cost of US$83 million.
WFP will continue to purchase food commodities in Zambia provided cash donations are forthcoming and adequate food commodities are available in surplus regions of the country within a stable and comparatively cost effective price range. Local purchase provides a cost effective source of food for WFP to distribute in food deficit areas; it also provides market incentives for local agricultural production and post-harvest marketing systems and infrastructure.
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