Since 2004, CARE Zambia has been working through a Program Partnership Agreement (PPA) with the UK Government’s Department for International Development (DFID) to implement a number of Social Protection projects, aimed at increasing the capacity of institutions and the most vulnerable in society to better manage risk associated with food insecurity, destitution and HIV and AIDS.

The PPA programme reflects CARE International’s vision which "seeks a world of hope, tolerance and social justice where poverty has been overcome and people live in dignity and security".

An estimated 64% of Zambians are poor, mostly living in rural areas (Central Statistics Office 2007) on less than US$ 1 per day. The PPA programme has focused on addressing this through a Social Protection agenda that supports both the achievement of Millennium Development Goals one, two and six, and the Government of Zambia’s Fifth National Development Plan (FNDP).

In this context, CARE Zambia regards Social Protection as a holistic approach to protecting and promoting the livelihoods and welfare of vulnerable groups through coordinated policies and transfer mechanisms such as cash, physical resources, training and in-kind contributions. The vulnerable groups targeted include:

• Low capacity households including widows, the disabled, the old, and other marginalized, lowincome households, and informal sector operators;
• Incapacitated households with no self-help potential, including mainly households affected by HIV/AIDS;
• Child-headed households and street children

As part of the PPA, a series of learning products have been developed as a means of sharing knowledge and promoting greater understanding with a wide spectrum of stakeholders including policy makers, Government, donors, and civil society.