LocationsCourse Correcting with Data to Ensure No One is Left Behind
“Zambia Leverages Data to Drive Development and Reduce Poverty, Ensuring No One is Left Behind”
July 17, 2024
The Zambia Statisitics Agency launches the Living Conditions Monitoring Survey and Child Poverty Report with the support of partners such at the Government of Sweden, the UN System in Zambia and the World Bank
Image captured by: Cecilia Mubambe/UNDP Zambia
Lusaka, Zambia, 17th July 2024 – Mid-2022, the Zambia Statistics Agency (ZamStats), supported by the United Nations in Zambia, conducted the Living Conditions Monitoring Survey (2022 LCMS). The reports of the survey’s findings covered a wide variety of topics, including but not exclusively, child poverty, migration, education, health, economic activity, consumption, and poverty analysis.
The assessment of over 19.6 million Zambians revealed that 60% of the population lives in rural areas, while some 68% of Zambians are considered “economically inactive”. With the exception of Luapula Province and North-Western Province, the findings revealed an increase in poverty levels between 2015 to 2022 across 8 provinces. Muchinga Province experienced the highest increase with a 13.3% change from 69.3% in 2015 to 82.6% of its residents living below the poverty line in 2022. On average, the number of people experiencing poverty in the country has increased by 5.5% from 2015.
Further, the findings of the 2022 LCMS indicated that 6.6 million Zambian children are deprived in two or more areas of wellbeing, while 2.7 million out of them experience deprivation in four or more dimensions simultaneously. Across the dimensions, the report reveals that 4 in 10 children are stunted due to poor nutrition, 2 out of 3 children cannot access nearby health facilities, 1 in 4 children use unsafe water sources, 1 in 2 children lack access to proper sanitation facilities, 1 in 10 live in crowded homes and36 per cent lack access to communication devices.
This trend is not unique to Zambia, during the United Nations 2024 High-level Political Forum, it was revealed that we are leaving the most vulnerable behind on course to development. As the gap between the rich and the poor continues to widen across the globe, vulnerable populations in developing nations are bearing the brunt of collective inaction. The current trend indicates that 590 million people will still be living in extreme poverty by 2030. Rising inequalities, climate chaos, increasing conflict and economic uncertainty are reversing decades of development progress.
Data from reports such as the LCMS and Child Poverty Report, will play a key role in ensuring that we course correct and drive progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, by providing a basis upon which to monitor the impact of Government policies and donor support; to measure and monitor poverty and its distribution; and to measure the degree of inequality. The 2022 LCMS will provide the Government of Zambia, donor organisations, the UN system, and other stakeholders, with the information they need to make well-informed development decisions that can enhance the impact of policies, strategies, and programmes.
During the launch of the 2022 LCMS, UN Resident Coordinator for Zambia shared the following remarks:
“The collation of the data shared today is only the very first step in working towards the reduction of multidimensional poverty… Moving forward, we must galvanise efforts to ensure that Zambia’s policies, resource allocation, and coordination and monitoring efforts all work harmoniously to secure SDG 1 on ending poverty.”
For further details, contact the UNDP Zambia’s Communication Analyst, Ms. Mercy Khozi at mercy.khozi@undp.org.
UNDP partners with people at all levels of society to help build nations that can withstand crisis, and drive and sustain the kind of growth that improves the quality of life for everyone. On the ground in some 177 countries and territories, we offer a global perspective and local insight to help empower lives and build resilient nations.
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Or visit our website: undp.org/Zambia
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