Zambia

Zambia is ranked by the UN as among 11 most underdeveloped countries in world. The intersections of poverty, HIV/AIDS and harmful traditional practices create especially difficult circumstances for women. Zambian women still have restricted access to education, economic opportunities, health facilities and social freedoms.

Land ownership

94% of land lies under the jurisdiction of traditional leaders
Usually land, animals and even income from women’s labour are controlled by men
Common lands and water resources are completely controlled by men

Lack of access to health care

Over 50% of rural communities do not have access to a health facility within 5km and many are up to 20km away
Only 47% of births are attended by a skilled health worker at health institutions
Zambia has one of highest rates of maternal mortality in the world
Early marriage and early pregnancy are common; 35% of girls give birth before the age of 18

Poor food security and nutrition

85% of the population in Zambia depends on agriculture for subsistence
70% of the population do not have reliable access to food
Food insecurity is exacerbated by HIV and AIDS, drought, floods leading to crop failures and environmental degradation

Womankind’s work in Zambia

Our work in Zambia focuses on:

Building the capacity of women’s rights organisations so that they can increase their impact
Increasing participation and representation of women in decision-making

Our achievements in Zambia

Womankind’s partners, Women for Change and the Zambian National Women’s Lobby have had a significant impact on women’s lives in Zambia.

Our two partners have:

Increased access to basic rights for rural communities
Established successful seed multiplication programmes and improved access to markets for women farmers who have grown in confidence and proven to their families and communities that they can be efficient producers and good businesswomen
Lobbied effectively for the participation of women in decision making, contributing to the increase in the number of women in parliament from 19 to 24 in the last election (2006)
Established an extremely popular programme in schools, Girl’s Leadership Clubs, to build girls confidence, life skills and leadership skills – 30 have been established so far and there is demand for more.

How you can help

£111 can pay for an aspiring woman candidate to attend a two day workshop on campaigning for political office, political procedures, media skills, and confidence building skills

Help women lead the change in their communities.