The leaders committed to take action to keep adolescent girls in school, which will dramatically reduce their vulnerability to HIV. Every week, around 4200 adolescent girls and young women in sub-Saharan Africa acquire HIV. In 2020, six in seven adolescents aged between 15—19 years old acquiring HIV in the region were girls. More than 23000 young women died from AIDS-related illnesses in 2020, making it the second leading cause of death among women aged 15—29 after maternal mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. Keeping girls in secondary school and providing them with life skills, training and employment opportunities is key to ending the AIDS pandemic in Africa. Research shows that ensuring that girls complete secondary education reduces their risk of acquiring HIV by up to half, and that combining this with a package of services and rights for girls’ empowerment reduces their risk further still.  Education Plus calls for free and quality secondary education for all girls and boys in sub-Saharan Africa by 2025; universal access to comprehensive sexuality education; fulfilment of sexual and reproductive health and rights; freedom from gender-based and sexual violence; school-to-work transitions, and economic security and empowerment.  “My government has committed to the provision of free primary and secondary education for all,” said President Hakainde Hichilema of Zambia, who hosted the summit. “Education is the greatest equalizer and with appropriate education, everyone is given an opportunity to explore their full potential and be able to participate in the development process. Access to education empowers both girls and boys as it enhances their ability to access decent jobs and other means of production thus alleviating poverty.” The President of Senegal and current chair of the African Union, Macky Sall, launched the initiative flanked by three other presidents and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat. “It is my pleasure to join you on the occasion of the ceremony to launch the continental “Education Plus Initiative” under the leadership of the Organisation of African First Ladies (OAFLAD) in support to children and young girls in particular,” said President Sall. “There is need for action to promote women’s rights and autonomy, to fight against the discrimination and violence which girls and women face. We must address gender inequality at all stages of life. At the continental level, AU Member States are committed to accelerating the implementation of gender-specific economic, social, and legal measures aimed at combating the HIV/AIDS pandemic by adopting various policy and legal frameworks including the Maputo Protocol.” The launch was held in partnership with the Organisation of African First Ladies for Development, convened by the First Lady of Zambia, Mutinta Hichilema.  “I am confident that Education Plus will enable us all to protect, provide and preserve the lives of adolescent girls and young women by enhancing education standards and preventing new HIV infections by use of various interventions,” said Ms Hichilema. “We lend our voice to the transformative call for gender-inclusive education in Africa,” said Leyla Gozo, Executive Secretary of  the Organisation of African First Ladies for Development, “First ladies are uniquely positioned to amplify this initiative.” The Education Plus initiative has taken on even greater urgency as the COVID-19 pandemic pushed millions of girls out of school. Even before the pandemic, almost 34 million adolescent girls aged 12—17 years old in the sub-Saharan Africa region were not in secondary school. Evidence also shows that girls are less likely to restart school once they have dropped out. Ten African countries – Benin, Cameroon, Eswatini, Gabon, Gambia, Lesotho, Malawi, Sierra Leone, South Africa and Uganda – have so far committed to the initiative which is jointly convened by five United Nations agencies, UNAIDS, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNICEF and UN Women, and brings together governments, civil society and international partners. “We are making progress in Africa but not fast enough,” said UNAIDS Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima in her address to the launch. “We need to urgently address the gender inequalities that still plague the continent, with devastating impacts on poor girls and young women. We don’t have a minute to wait.  Working together, we can all end discriminatory laws and harmful social norms, so that our girls are healthy, educated and empowered and can lead our continent, Africa, forward.” Source: UNAIDS  ###

World Press Freedom Day is a day of support for media freedoms and also a day of remembrance for those journalists who lost their lives on duty.  This year, the United Nations System in Zambia joined media practitioners and other stakeholders in the country to observe World Press Freedom Day under the theme “Journalism Under Surveillance”, drawn from the global theme “Journalism Under Digital Siege”. The theme underlined the impact of the digital era on freedom of expression, the safety of journalists, access to information and privacy. It also provided an opportunity to seek solutions and responses to the new digital threats facing journalism with all concerned stakeholders, such as policymakers, journalists, media representatives, activists, cybersecurity managers and legal experts. As part of the commemorations of the WPFD in Zambia, the WPFD Local Organizing Committee organised the National Media Indaba on 4 May 2022 at the Mulungushi International Conference Centre in Lusaka. Zambia’s President H.E Mr. Hakainde Hichilema was the Guest of Honor.  The Republican President emphasized the vital role of the media as the fourth estate and reaffirmed his government’s commitment to enacting an the Access to Information law as well as protect and honour media freedom in Zambia.  Mr. Hichilema called on the media to desist from reporting non-factual stories and encouraged them to take time to research and ensure that their stories were not biased but based on the truth. He further encouraged the media to take the role of peace building seriously and ensure that their coverage did not contain hate speech and potential to divide people across tribal lines.  Representing the UN System in Zambia, UN Resident Coordinator a.i. Lionel Laurens said that media freedom and access to information help to empower people and enable them gain control over their own lives, enhance transparency, accountability, and informed public participation in governance. He observed that this cannot be possible without accurate, fair and unbiased information from the media to facilitate communication among citizens and between them and their leaders. Quoting the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, Mr. Laurens said, “Without freedom of the press, there are no real democratic societies. Without freedom of the press, there is no freedom. He explained that the UN regarded the media as critical in enhancing democracy and promoting the rule of law and attainment of Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions in line with Sustainable Development Goal 16. He remined the gathering that while digital technology had democratized access to information, it had also created serious challenges. He further said that the huge increase in online information had also led to a rise in misinformation and disinformation that threatened development objectives and aspirations, noting that online misinformation could endanger peace and security, slow down development and hamper collective problem solving.   “Let us, together, counter the harmful use of digital media and misinformation through robust initiatives to verify the information that citizens receive,” he said. Mr Laurens cited the Verified Campaign (https://shareverified.com) as a global initiative of the United Nations, which in collaboration with Purpose, was aimed at equipping people with the skills to identify and combat misinformation, promote the sharing of verified messages and fact-checked information on key issues such as COVID-19 and other crises.
He noted that in Zambia, the UN is in partnership with various partners implementing the iVerify platform to strengthen national capacity to identify and document cases of disinformation, misinformation and hate speech, analyse and fact-check information, as well as activate remedial responses through counter-messaging or regulatory decisions. 
And in a statement delivered on her behalf by National Commission for UNESCO Senior Programme Officer in Zambia Dr Samson Kantini, UNESCO Director General Ms Audrey Azoulay, noted that journalists played a vital role in providing accurate information, which I vital in times or crises. She said that the digital era had put media workers and their sources at greater risk of being targeted, harassed and attacked.  Speaking at the same event, Media Liaison Committee Chairperson, Enock Ngoma highlighted poor salaries/wages, legal reforms, lack of incentives, failure by government to support media institutions, lack of open spaces for media to air the grievances, politicians sitting on media boards instead of trained journalists, as some of the reasons why the media in Zambia seemed to be under performing.  May 3 was proclaimed World Press Freedom Day by the UN General Assembly in 1993 following a Recommendation adopted at the twenty-sixth session of UNESCO's General Conference in 1991. It serves as an occasion to inform citizens of violations of press freedom - a reminder that in dozens of countries around the world, publications are censored, fined, suspended and closed down, while journalists, editors and publishers are harassed, attacked, detained and even murdered. It is a date to encourage and develop initiatives in favour of press freedom and to assess the state of press freedom worldwide.

UNDP Accelerator Labs & Africa Borderlands Centre are harnessing innovative digital solutions to put border communities in Zambia in a stronger position to navigate the COVID-19 crisis & stay in business. Lilian Masiye, an informal female cross border trader, was in dire straits. After sales at her duvets stall plummeted, she applied for a loan from a bank to keep her business going. She was unable to access funding because she did not have a fixed salary or own any property that the bank requires as collateral. “It was emotionally disturbing,” she sighs, with her smile temporarily giving way to a frown. Lilian had a somewhat flourishing business – importing and selling duvets and kitchenware in Zambia’s tourist capital, Livingstone, a hub for visitors to the Victoria Falls, bordering with Zimbabwe - before the COVID-19 pandemic struck. Her business took a massive hit when the tourism sector was hard-hit by restrictions imposed by the government in response to the pandemic. It prevented her from crossing the borders into neighbouring countries – Zimbabwe, South Africa and Botswana – where she sourced her goods. The COVID-19 certification fees of 1,000 Zambian Kwacha (US$55) charged at the borders also increased the cost of doing business for Lilian and many informal cross-border traders, mainly women and youths whose start-up capital, usually drawn from household resources, is very low. To keep their businesses operating during COVID-19, the women pooled their funds, using middlemen or runners to buy and deliver their goods. “But there is a lot of risks with such arrangements, and it is twice as expensive,” Lilian said. Livelihoods at risk More than 70 percent of informal cross border traders in Zambia are women who rely heavily on small-scale cross border trade for their livelihoods. The COVID-19 crisis has disproportionately affected these women by making it far more complex for them to make ends meet. With a maroon colourful ‘chitenge’ (wrapper) tied around her waist, Lilian remembers redirecting her business capital to covering family needs when the pandemic put cross-border trade on hold. The 27-years-old single mother, with a child and three dependents to put through school, makes only a small profit which is barely enough to meet the basic needs for her and her dependents. When borders were closed due to COVID-19, tourism and trading livelihoods were immediately affected resulting in loss of income for informal cross border traders. Moreover, the nature of their trade render them unable to secure loans to manage their business operations, putting their livelihoods at risk. Stacked against all odds In patriarchal societies like Zambia, when a woman from a marginalized community wants to start or grow her own business, the odds of securing a business loan from a traditional financial institution are heavily stacked against her. This affects women like Lilian, who was unable to take out a loan for her business because, as a woman, she could not provide administrative papers such as proof of property ownership and income demanded by mainstream banks. Building resilience through innovation In a surprising turn of events, Lilian has bounced back, thanks to her entrepreneurial spirit and the Africa Border Lands Centre Innovation Challenge project funded by UNDP and led by its UNDP Accelerator Labs which is helping border communities in Zambia overcome the double hit from COVID-19 and climate change while staying in business. Lilian is among the 75 beneficiaries – mostly women and youths – who were initially trained in digital and financial literacy as well as basic entrepreneurial and group savings management practices through the far-reaching and innovative project. The Innovation Challenge project was made possible with initial pooled funding of more than US$250,000 from the Africa Borderlands Centre (ABC), an initiative led by UNDP to conduct research, policy analysis and programming dedicated to Africa’s borderlands and from UNDP Accelerator Labs in Zambia and Zimbabwe. The ABC aims to improve the wellbeing of communities living along the borders by working with borderlands influencers and leaders to co-create ‘innovation challenges’, aimed at transforming security, economic and environmental vulnerabilities in the borderlands into opportunities for inclusive development. The Accelerator Labs are part of a global UNDP initiative that responds to the widespread recognition that business-as-usual will not take us to the world we want in 2030. It will take new solutions that are locally relevant and locally driven, that can be adapted, sustained, and replicated to address these complex needs. The Accelerator Labs create actionable intelligence and test solutions with national partners. Working through the Cross Border Traders Associations in Livingstone and Victoria Falls Town in Zambia and Zimbabwe respectively, UNDP Accelerator Labs in both countries in 2021, began discussions with local innovators - the “local problem solvers” to find innovative ways to ensure business continuity for the traders. Two start-ups stepped in with innovative solutions to address the twin challenges that small-scale cross border traders face. VillageSavers, a Zambian start-up, created a digital app that helps traders manage their savings digitally through a Self-Help Saving Groups (SHGs) initiative, while providing digital and financial literacy training to help their businesses grow, boosting their incomes so they could pay for schooling and medical bills. As it accelerates its activities, the ABC-funded project also intends to help informal cross border traders buy and sell their goods online without crossing the borders, using the VillageSavers App.  Thumeza, a Zimbabwean logistics start-up, facilitates the movement of goods for traders across borders, using a digital transporter tracking system. This aims to address the challenge the traders face due to travel restrictions and required COVID-19 certifications for every travel across the borderlines. “The aim is to increase access to financial products through digital loan management and real time tracking of savings and income, the co-creation of a virtual marketplace and the safe delivery of goods across borders,” says Salome Nakazwe, Head of Solutions Mapping at UNDP Accelerator Lab Zambia. The project is just one example of many innovative approaches taken by UNDP through its Accelerated Labs to help identify local solutions developed at grassroot levels to solve local development challenges in rural Zambia, where poverty stubbornly stands at 78 percent, directly affecting  women and adolescent girls who are particularly vulnerable due to lower human capital accumulation, according to World Bank data. Boosting financial and digital literacy Single mothers and breadwinners like Lilian Masiye are among the most vulnerable in Zambia’s patriarchal traditional communities, where age-old customs dictate a woman’s life. This vulnerability is compounded by the ravages of climate change and COVID-19. “I have been able to pay school fees for my children, unlike before when the income from my business was uncertain,” Lilian happily said while smiling and thumbing through a wad of banknotes as she stands by her makeshift stall with duvets, touting for business in central Livingstone. As the project scale-up its intervention, each beneficiary will receive a smartphone to help them keep track of all financial transactions including savings, which constitutes a vital record of a person’s ability to save and repay a more formal loan in the eyes of a financing institution. Records from a baseline survey show that at the start of the project, 99.9 percent of the women and youths had no savings with limited digital knowledge. As a result of the initiative, all the beneficiaries were able to save as a group and individually access low-interest loans, which they are now successfully repaying. The group savings are paying off. With physical record-keeping, the group saved US$110 collectively. After deploying the App and using it to monitor their savings, the users changed their savings behavior, began trusting the tool more, and more members were encouraged to save through the group. As a result, funds started growing. By the end of February 2022, the traders had saved over US$3,500 collectively. “We have seen an amazing improvement in success rates after a few months of working with the women and youths on ways to develop their business and digital skills, collectively save money and in turn facilitating their access to affordable loans,” says Moses Mwansa, CEO and Co-founder of VillageSavers.  Game Changer “These are small-scale traders whose working capital is just about US$300, therefore, having access to a larger amount of money is a game-changer for these women and youths,” Constance Nalishebo Muleabai, the Mayoress of the City of Livingstone said. This life changing moment did not just stop with Lilian’s family. Michelo Moono, 33, a single mother of four selling at the Zimbabwe Market in Livingstone said: “The practical digital and business tips and low-interest loan I received from the project are a real lifesaver.” At the Zambia-Botswana border in Kazungula, 68 kilometres from Livingstone, Getrude Mateu who trades in perishable goods is also struggling. She ended up dumping sacks of rotten fruits in the landfill after the pandemic stopped foreign tourists who had been predominantly her clients. She couldn’t hide her delight hearing about the project: “We will now have solutions to make sure we have some financial security to handle whatever surprises come our way.” “The Africa Borderlands Innovation Challenge is an important and necessary development disruptor to aid African countries in the attainment of the SDGs. We know that cross-border trade is the socio-economic back-bone of many borderland communities. The unique premise of the Innovation Challenge is its rooting in co-creating solutions with border communities and stakeholders who are engaged in cross-border trade. Therefore, any sustainable solutions should consider existing innovations and incubate new ones,” said Zeynu Ummer, Team Leader and Senior Technical Advisor, The Africa Borderlands Centre. Ummer said the role of the Africa Borderlands Centre is to create a launch pad for this innovation, spark new innovations and support the scaling of solutions that benefit all borderland communities.” A self-sustaining future “Widening access to finance for informal cross border traders into vibrant micro-entrepreneurial activities has a significant potential not only to help reduce poverty but contribute to food security and drive a stronger recovery from COVID-19,” says Lionel Laurens, the UNDP Resident Representative in Zambia.  Laurens said UNDP’s goal is to work with local actors to find sustainable solutions to the barriers against informal cross border trading, mainly through the expansion of livelihoods opportunities to women and youths for a self-sustaining future, ensuring that “nobody gets left behind.” Lilian, Michelo and 73 other beneficiaries were without a doubt among the most vulnerable members of their communities. Having benefited from digital and financial literacy training and the group savings and tools to keep their businesses growing, they are now in a stronger position to navigate the COVID-19 crisis and stay in business. For more information on the Africa Borderlands Centre Innovation Challenge, please click here Story and photos by Moses Zangar, Jr., Communications Specialist/UNDP Zambia.

In their strides for gender equality, over 300 Zambian women joined the books of African history, as their witnessed the official launch the African Women Leaders Network (AWLN) – Zambia Chapter, at a momentous occasion held on 30 March 2022 in Lusaka. The event brought together women from all works of life, including women politicians, civil servants, entrepreneurs, civil society, women living with disabilities, rural women, and young girls with one common agenda of creating a platform that enhances the leadership of women in the transformation of Africa, with a focus on governance and political participation, peace and security, finance and women's entrepreneurship, youth leadership, agriculture, and social mobilization. Speaking during the launch, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Zambia, Dr Coumba Mar Gadio underscored the commitment of the UN in Zambia on women empowerment. “As the UN System in Zambia, we continually strive for action to lift the status of women and girls. The national ownership and commitment of the Zambia AWLN chapter will be crucial towards more concerted and tangible action if we are to see the change we want,” Dr Gadio said. “The UN system in Zambia pledges and reaffirms its unwavering support to the Government of the Republic Zambia, towards the empowerment of women and girls. We would like to suggest to the Government of the Republic of Zambia to consider ratification of some conventions and treaties aimed at advancing gender equality such as Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security and Convention 190 on harassment and violence in the world of work,” she added. Giving her keynote and launch speech, Her Honour the Vice President of the Republic of Zambia, Mrs. WK Mutale Nalumango called on women to network to share ideas and enhance their leadership opportunities. She said that the government was commitment to ensuring gender equality and the participation of women in leadership. "The 29th Chapter brings renewed hope and momentum in advocating for enhanced strategic actions for women's leadership roles across all sectors including women at grassroot levels," Mrs Nalumango said. Other speakers at the hybrid launch included former President of Liberia and Patron of AWLN Ellen Johnson Sirleaf who congratulated Zambia for joining the AWLN movement and efforts to enhance the leadership of women. Others were UN Deputy Secretary-General Dr. Amina Mohammed who noted that AWLN would support progress on Sustainable Development Goal number 5 on gender equality by ending all forms of discrimination, violence and any harmful practices against women and girls in the public and private spheres. And Zambia’s First Lady of Zambia Mutinta Hichilema noted that Zambia had made significant progress in strengthening women leadership roles across all sectors from politics and peace building to social and private sectors.  She reaffirmed her commitment to the empowerment of women. “As your partner, I reaffirm my commitment to support the implementation of the African Women Leadership Network Zambia chapter, a groundbreaking movement that will enhance the leadership of women and girls towards the Africa and Zambia we want….The future is indeed brighter when women and girls and present at every table where decisions are made,” said Mrs. Hichilema. The launch also had presentations from the following: UNFPA Deputy Regional Director Beatrice Mutali, Special UN Representative in the Horn of Africa Hanna Tetteh, Deputy Executive Director for UN Women Anita Bhatia, UNDP Assistant Administrator and Regional Director for Africa Ahunna Eziakonwa, AU Special Envoy on Women Bineta Diop and Non-Governmental Organisations Coordinating Council Board Chairperson Mary Mulenga. Others were Zambian parliamentarians Hon. Princess Kasune MP and Hon. Twambo Mutinta MP, and UN Women Special Representative to the AU and ECA and for the establishment of the national chapters, Awa Ndiaye Seck. AWLN was launched at the UN Headquarters in New York in June 2017, under the auspices of the African Union Commission and the United Nations through the Office of the AU Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security and UN Women. Five years after it was established, the network comprises over 500 African women across generations and sectors. The AWLN Zambia Chapter brings new momentum in calling for more visible and strategic action, with deliberate targeting to reach women leaders across all sectors, including women leaders at the grassroots level. Women’s participation and leadership is an essential prerequisite for poverty alleviation and tackling gender inequality. AWLN is a ground-breaking movement of African women leaders who aim to enhance the leadership of women in the transformation of Africa, in line with Africa Agenda 2063 and the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.