Zambia, a land-locked country 10 times the size of Ireland is a unified and peaceful country that enjoys vast land and water resources and one of the lowest population densities in the world.  Despite this, Zambia remains one of Africa’s poorest countries: it ranked 165th out of 177 countries on the UN Human Development Index 2007 (Ireland ranked 5th).  Over two-thirds of the population live below the national poverty line of less than a dollar a day, many of these in congested urban sites called compounds.  Zambia has one of the highest prevalence rates of HIV in the world; currently about 17 percent of 15-49 year olds are infected.  Life expectancy has dropped from 50.2 years in the early 1970’s, to 40.5 years today. 

Ireland’s links with Zambia

Irish links with Zambia stretch back over a century. Long before an official bilateral aid programme was established and well before Zambia achieved its independence in 1964, Irish missionary societies were among the main providers of services in health and education what was then Northern Rhodesia.  Many of Zambia’s leading citizens received their education at schools run by the Irish Christian Brothers and other missionary societies, and many of Zambia’s hospitals throughout much of the 20th century were in the care of Irish missionary sisters.

Irish Aid in Zambia – Overview

The Irish Aid Programme in Zambia began in 1980 and is administered by the Embassy of Ireland in Lusaka.  Irish Aid works closely with Government and Civil Society partners to pursue the goals they have set for their country’s development, as outlined in the Zambian Government’s Fifth National Development Plan and Zambia’s Aid Policy. 

Towards the end of 2007, Irish Aid finalised a new Country Strategy Paper (CSP) for Zambia. A budget of €27 million has been allocated for the 2008 programme.

Zambia’s Aid Environment

The aid environment in Zambia has changed considerably in recent years as donors and government increasingly coordinate their investments to minimise duplication.  The Government of Zambia has set out its National Development Plan and development partners (including Ireland) have signed up to the “Joint Assistance Strategy for Zambia” (JASZ) which emphasises the importance of harmonisation, better coordination, cooperation, and ownership.  Under the JASZ, there is a division of labour between donors, in order for resources, knowledge and capacity to be more evenly distributed across sectors. To this end, Ireland has reduced its direct engagement in the Health sector, as other donors take a more central role, and has increased engagement in the Education Sector, currently acting as a joint lead donor with the Netherlands.

Irish Aid Programme

Achieving a More Effective Approach to Education
Education lies at the heart of the development challenge in Zambia and is inextricably linked to the other objectives of the programme. In recent years, Ireland’s engagement has evolved towards greater support for the Ministry of Education to plan and implement sustainable education systems and programmes which meet the needs of the country.  This approach is based on the idea that, in the long run, building a strong education system, through working with the Government of Zambia, is the most effective way to improve education there. The Zambian government’s priorities for the education system are to improve access, quality, efficiency and effectiveness and equity.

Teacher training in Zambia currently faces many challenges - on her visit to Zambia in February 2007, the Minster for Education Mary Hanafin announced a further commitment to enhanced cooperation in the area of teacher education, in association with the Irish teacher training colleges. 

Recognising and Reaching the Poorest

Irish Aid’s engagement aims to tackle not only the symptoms but also the causes of poverty in Zambia. This approach acknowledges the multidimensional nature of chronic poverty - poverty that is long-term and inter-generational - and seeks to address HIV and AIDS, gender inequality and good governance.

Social Protection

Ireland assists the Government of Zambia in pursuing its goal of ensuring livelihood security for all vulnerable Zambians.  Social Protection programmes seek to cushion the risks associated with unemployment, ill health, disability, work-related injury and old age. Such systems provide a vital safety net for communities attempting to break away from unsustainable livelihood patterns.

HIV and AIDS

More than one million people in Zambia are living with HIV while approximately 630,000 children have been orphaned by AIDS.  Women are particularly severely affected. In the age group 15-19, HIV prevalence is six times higher for girls than for boys. The burden of care for the sick is also increasingly falling on women and children. Irish Aid provides support to the National AIDS Council in Zambia to enable it to effectively coordinate the multi-sectoral response to HIV and AIDS and to ensure that the issue is addressed at the highest political levels.  Irish Aid also works with other donors to address gender inequality as part of the response to the ‘feminisation’ of the HIV and AIDS pandemic.

Ireland also supports a number of Non-Governmental Organisations in Northern Province and the Copperbelt that directly address the needs of over 35,000 Orphans and Vulnerable Children enabling them to: access HIV and AIDS testing and treatment where needed, continue their schooling, undertake vocational training and become independent and productive members of their communities.

Building Good Governance

Good governance is an essential prerequisite for ensuring sustainable human development and has long been a backbone of the Irish Aid programme. Some samples of impact to date include:
• Irish sponsored good governance programming over community radio, in order to reach hundreds of thousands of the poor who are not reached by any other communication medium.
• Irish Aid also initiated a multi-donor fund called the Zambia Elections Fund, which financed civil society organisations’ participation in voter education, civic education, and election monitoring activities for the 2006 elections.  Support was also provided to Electoral Commission of Zambia.

Irish Aid currently supports a number of initiatives including a programme of Parliamentary Reform which aims to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the National Assembly.  The important role played by civil society organisations is recognised and the advocacy efforts of these organisations are supported through a joint funding arrangement with other donors.

Making Development Work at a Local Level

Irish Aid has a long history of engagement in Zambia’s Copperbelt and Northern Province and we will continue to promote local development, to reduce poverty at local levels and to build strong local institutions.   This direct, ongoing experience provides us with a unique insight into the challenges of development at a local level and enables us to inform national policy development by lesson learning from experience of the realities on the ground.

To achieve this, support is being provided to six district councils, four in Northern Province and two in the Copperbelt to improve service delivery. An emphasis is placed on the participation of poor women and men in the planning process and on mainstreaming gender, governance and HIV and AIDS issues into the plans in a practical way.

Irish Aid is also facilitating the delivery of water and sanitation services in four districts in Northern Province. Previous Irish Aid water and sanitation programmes in Northern Province have resulted in a clear reduction in diarrhoeal diseases and a compete elimination of cholera in the areas supported by Irish Aid. With Irish Aid support the National Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Programme was launched in 2007. Under the new programme, Irish Aid and other donors will establish nationwide funding for the sector by 2010.