Foreword - Honourable Minister of Finance and National Planning
Acknowledgements
Preface - Lotta Sylwander, Representative UNICEF Zambia
1. Introduction: Understanding the situation of children and women in Zambia	1
2. Vulnerabililty context for children and women	3
2.1 Poverty in Zambia	3
2.2 Food security	5
2.3 Livelihoods	7
2.4 Ill health	9
2.5 Social context	16
2.6 Closing comment: vulnerability context	26
3. Context of support to children and women	28
3.1 Service delivery	28
3.2 Social protection	42
3.3 Management and co-ordination of service delivery	44
3.4 Closing comment: support to children and women	46
4. Protection context for children and women: law and policy environment	49
4.1 Legislative framework	49
4.2 Birth registration	52
4.3 Mainstreaming policies for children and women	54
4.4 Closing comment: protection context for children and women	55
5. Meeting the challenge, making a difference	57
5.1 Integrated and equitable service delivery	59
5.2 Social change	62
5.3 Legal framework	63
5.4 Economic environment	63
5.5 Planning and budgeting	64
5.6 Emergency preparedness and response	65
5.7 Collective commitment for change: reforming the social and political environment	66
Acronyms	67
Sources for figures	68
Text references	70
Photographic credits

Preface – Lotta Sylwander, Representative, UNICEF Zambia

Children and women are the heart of Zambian society, the forefront of national development, and the leaders of the future. Whether we focus on poverty reduction, economic development, service delivery or social inclusion, benefits for children and women are integral to our shared objectives, and their participation is essential for success in achieving these goals.

Despite this, it would not yet be correct to claim that children and women enjoy full and universal access to their rights or that they are free to achieve their rightful place. In many respects, the interests of children are left to come after those of adults; the needs of girls and women take second place. Government and its partners are challenged daily by the task of trying to improve food security, increase access to basic services, improve livelihoods and to create a safe and equitable environment in the homes and communities of this nation. This task is fundamental to our shared pledge to reduce poverty, which remains the central commitment and priority for development.

The period of the Fifth National Development Plan has shown the benefits of Government and partners aligning their efforts around a common framework for development. Greater harmonisation has increased the efficiency of resource use, and reduced the significant transaction costs involved in less well managed cooperation. Significant progress has been made in improving monitoring and evaluation systems. Government is providing clear leadership for national development, and cooperating partners are collaborating in line with our clearly agreed joint assistance strategy. The progress and lessons learned on how we work together will be of great benefit as Zambia embarks on the development of the next national development plan.

This situation analysis is therefore timely. There is a strong commitment to accelerating results for the survival and development of Zambia’s children and women, and there is a greatly improved operating environment for implementing the necessary activities. While many vital steps are identified in the plans and policies of many of our sector ministries, the situation analysis provides a comprehensive overview, allowing us to understand the overarching situation of children and women in Zambia today, pointing to areas where closer collaboration can increase efficiency and effectiveness, and highlighting some of the challenges that exist in prioritising our actions for children. The situation analysis will therefore serve as an excellent resource for planning, guiding the definition of goals and the identification of actions that will prove most effective in delivering results for Zambia's children and women.