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Zambia: Social Protection Strategy
01 January 2006
Country coordinator: Chozi Nkhata, RHVP Zambia Country Co-ordinator
In the past, Zambia has not had a strategy for social protection. However there have been a number of social protection interventions, targeting the chronically poor and vulnerable. The Government of Zambia has identified social protection as an essential component of, and pre-requisite for, poverty reduction.
The Social Protection Strategy (SPS) came into being after the Government of Zambia sought to include a comprehensive SPS as part of the National Development Plan (NDP). This process began early February 2004. The Ministry of Community Development and Social Services (MCDSS) was given the mandate to co-ordinate the formulation of the SPS through a multi stakeholder Sector Advisory Group (SAG) on Social Protection.
The strategy, which has been cast into a Social Protection Chapter of the National Development Plan for 2006-2011, is an attempt to harmonise, prioritise and improve existing approaches as well as integrate new ones such as social cash transfer schemes that respond to current crises such as the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
The mission of the SPS is to strengthen the capacity of the most vulnerable to better manage droughts, macro-economic shocks, and HIV/AIDS. The Strategy recognises the following problematic areas:
- Lack of impact of the numerous programmes carried out using different approaches, locations, target groups and stakeholders.
- Some of the programmes spread funds thinly on the ground or have irregular funding.
- Lack of clear targets, poor coverage, and limited monitoring and evaluation on impacts and outcomes.
The SPS has the following objectives, which may take time to achieve as social protection programmes will be rolled out in phases:
- to increase the ability of low capacity households to meet their basic needs;
- to reduce extreme poverty in incapacitated households;
- to reduce the vulnerability and numbers of street children;
- to improve access to health and education for people from incapacitated and low capacity households;
- to reduce the vulnerability of social protection target groups to the violation of their legal rights;
- to strengthen capacity at local and national level to deliver an effective social protection programme.
The Government of Zambia therefore identified social protection as a vital part of the new National Development Plan. The implementation of the SPS reflects the traditional Zambian concern for the dignity and well-being of the incapacitated, children and the elderly. This shows Zambia's commitment to supporting the most vulnerable in society and finding adequate protection mechanisms for them. The Government of Zambia has realised that social protection is a key pre-requisite for any pro-poor growth strategy.
For more information contact the author at
Eric Miller, 2002
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