Zambia has expressed sympathy with Mozambique following the devastating effects of Cyclone Chido, which claimed lives and caused widespread destruction, with a call for a unified approach to combat climate change.

Ministry of Community Development and Social Services Permanent Secretary, Ms. Angela Kawandami, has highlighted the adverse impacts of climate change and stressed the importance of implementing shock-responsive social protection measures to safeguard the poor and vulnerable.

Ms. Kawandami made the remarks during a courtesy call by a Mozambican delegation led by Ms. Gloria Siaca, General Director of the Social Protection Institute, to learn from Zambia’s advancements in social protection, particularly in emergency response.

The Permanent Secretary underscored the significance of collaboration between Zambia and Mozambique in sharing best practices to address the socio-economic challenges posed by climate change.

She expressed optimism that the engagement would yield innovative strategies for scaling up social protection programs and resource mobilization to strengthen resilience.

In response, Ms. Siaca praised Zambia’s systematic and resilient social protection framework, which inspired the study visit.

She noted that Mozambique continues to grapple with various climate change impacts, including cyclones, floods, and droughts, and hoped to draw valuable lessons from Zambia’s effective emergency response mechanisms.