Government has disclosed that over 2 million people were supported with social protection interventions during the emergency response following the presidential declaration of a National Disaster and Emergency on 29th February, 2024.
speaking when she delivered a Ministerial statement in parliament on the impact of social protection programmes this afternoon, Minister of Community Development and Social Services, Ms Doreen Mwamba said Zambia has faced multiple shocks in recent years such as erratic rainfall patterns due to climate change, which resulted in the severe drought experienced during the 2023/2024 farming season.
Ms Mwamba further said the intervention therefore led to the targeting of 952,570 households across all 116 districts, with 726,361 of these in the 84 most severely affected districts, all of whom have since been benefiting from Emergency Cash Transfers (ECT).
“These were implemented alongside the 1.3 million households already on the regular SCT programme, who received top-ups to strengthen their resilience during the crisis”, the Minister further said.
Ms Mwamba also informed Parliament that the Emergency Cash Transfer programme is currently undergoing a comprehensive review aimed at assessing its impact, efficiency, and sustainability, to inform potential expansion and guide the formulation of strategic next steps to better serve the needs of our most vulnerable citizens.
And regarding the Cash for Work programme, Ms Mwamba disclosed that the initiative has played a significant role in responding to crises.
Coordinated in partnership with the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) and local councils, the Minister said this initiative provides short-term employment to vulnerable individuals affected by disasters who have been engaged in valuable community projects such as road maintenance, drainage clearing, tree planting, and water conservation while earning an income to support their households.
The Minister expressed optimism that the evidence from government assessments and independent evaluations shows that these social protection interventions have had far-reaching impacts through
improved food security and household nutrition, increased access to education and healthcare services.
She said the interventions have also played a role in preventing harmful coping mechanisms such as school dropouts and asset sales and also enabled small livelihood investments such as poultry farming and trading, while stimulating local markets, supporting rural economies and small businesses.
