Zambia and the United Nations: a solid partnership to improve the lives of the most vulnerable leaving no one behind

October is a very auspicious month for both the Republic of Zambia and the United Nations (UN). On the 24th of this month, the country celebrates 58 years of independence, while the UN marks 77 years since its founding on 24 October 1945.

On the ashes of the Second World War, 51 countries came together and declared that there had been enough destruction and loss of human life occasioned by the fighting. Meeting in San Francisco from April to June 1945, they wrote the UN Charter that established the organization with the common goal of working together to prevent wars and to make the world a better and safer place for future generations.

Seventy-seven years later, the United Nations has become an organization consisting of 193 Member States with the last country to join being the Republic of South Sudan in 2011. All countries, large and small, rich and poor, with differing political views and social systems, have a voice and a vote at the UN General Assembly. The organization has continued to make the world a better place with fewer conflicts and massive humanitarian support benefiting millions of people every day.

In Zambia, the UN started its operations in the early days following Zambia’s independence and ever since it has delivered developmental and humanitarian support, particularly, through the joint activities targeted at building a stronger and democratic country where all people enjoy their human rights.

Since then, the UN System in Zambia which comprises 23 agencies supported by over 800 committed staff, delivering as one, has been working tirelessly, hand in hand with the Government of the Republic of Zambia, cooperating and implementing partners to ensure sustainability, and has invested considerable efforts in developing national capacities to lead reforms, implement new laws and strategies to improve the lives of all people living in Zambia.

In the last two years, despite huge challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous efforts were made to support the country’s priorities.

With the financial and technical support from the UN System and partners, the Government developed the COVID-19 Resurgence Plan which reintroduced public health and social measures aimed at controlling transmission and mitigating severe illnesses and deaths, as well as the socio-economic impact. A COVID-19 Recovery Needs Assessment plan was also developed to assess the socio-economic impacts of the pandemic as a basis for ensuring innovative partnerships and financing opportunities to support the implementation of the national development plans, including the 8th National Development Plan (8NDP).

Through the COVAX facility, the UN supported the Government to access the COVID-19 vaccines and promoted vaccination uptake through Risk Communication and Community Engagement messages and activities. Over six million people across all 10 provinces of Zambia were reached with key prevention and vaccine promotion messages. Thanks to all collective efforts, about 70 per cent of the population is now fully vaccinated, meeting the national target that was set to be achieved by the end of 2022.

Now that we have passed the worst of the pandemic, the Government of the Republic of Zambia with the UN and the support of partners continue to address its socio-economic impacts, working jointly to alleviate household poverty through the implementation of the National Social Protection Policy. It is expected that 1.3 million beneficiaries will be reached by the end of 2023.

The country is making remarkable efforts to improve the lives of its population. Recently, during the UN General Assembly (UNGA) held in New York in September, the President of Zambia, His Excellency Mr. Hakainde Hichilema participated in the Transforming Education Summit and presented the national commitment to elevate education to the top of the global agenda.  Further, the President shared the steps Zambia has taken to make education free and accessible to all, stressing that an educated population was essential for economic development and that young people should be kept in school and supported to develop skills.

In addition, the Government recently presented the 2023 National Budget, which includes a substantial increase of more than 30 per cent in the social sector. About 3,000 new health personnel and 4,500 teachers will be recruited, and new health facilities, early childhood centres and schools will be constructed, to cite a few examples.

As we celebrate this year’s UN Day, we remain committed to continue our support to Zambia's development. The collaboration between the Government of the Republic of Zambia and the UN will be guided by the 2023-2027 UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework which will be officially signed and launched this month. Fully aligned to the 8th National Development Plan, the Cooperation Framework represents a joint commitment by the Government of the Republic of Zambia and the UN System to work in close partnership to achieve national priorities guided by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and international human and labour rights commitments. We look forward to working with the Government and all stakeholders to ensure transformative change in Zambia, leaving no one behind.

This is more urgent than ever as we only have eight years before the year 2030 by which we should have all made progress on the SDGs. Happy independence Zambia, Happy UN anniversary!

To learn more about the UN, visit zambia.un.org and www.un.org. 



The author is Resident Coordinator of the United Nations System in Zambia.