The International Labour Organization (ILO) has reaffirmed its continued support in strengthening Zambia’s social protection sector.

Newly appointed International Labour Organization (ILO) Social Protection Manager for Zambia, Mr. Jie Yu Koh, paid a courtesy call on Ministry of Community Development and Social Services , Permanent Secretary, Ms. Angela Kawandami and pledged support in various areas of human development.

During the meeting, Ms. Kawandami who acknowledged the longstanding partnership expressed deep appreciation to ILO for being an “all-weather partner” in addressing vulnerability and advancing the country’s efforts to eradicate poverty.

Ms. Kawandami said the country has the potential to reduce poverty levels from the current 60 to 40 percent, considering Zambia’s growing capacity and strong policy direction which is a critical enabler in the fight against poverty.

She highlighted several impactful social protection programmes and interventions that the government, through the Ministry, has implemented, such as the Social Cash Transfer, the Single Window Initiative, and the Cash Plus agenda which have significantly contributed to poverty reduction and improved livelihoods among vulnerable people across the country.

And Mr. Koh has backed Ms Kawandami’s confidence that Zambia can reduce poverty from 60 to 40 percent, describing it as “ambitious but not impossible”.

He said by addressing technological and digitization barriers that hinder service delivery, Zambia is able to address poverty and vulnerability by leveraging the already existing social protection systems and structures that have been established through dedicated hard work and a sense of ownership.

He emphasized the importance of building resilient systems that safeguard the most vulnerable, and reiterated ILO’s intention to deepen technical cooperation and capacity building, including support in areas such as digitization and technology to remove barriers to service delivery.