Since 2021, the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services (MCDSS) in partnership with the Ministry of Health, has been implementing a Nutrition-Sensitive Social Cash Transfer (SCT) pilot aimed at reducing malnutrition and stunting among children during their first 1,000 days of life.
The first phase reached 12,500 households in Mpika, Kalabo, Mwinilunga and Chipata, while the second phase expanded support to 25,000 households in Mumbwa, Kawambwa, Monze and Chibombo. The programme targets poor and vulnerable households with children under two years of age, as well as pregnant and breastfeeding mothers, in districts with high malnutrition rates.
Did you know? Not every pregnant woman or household with a child under two qualifies. The programme is not universal; it is poverty-targeted, meaning only households that meet the Social Cash Transfer Programme’s poverty and vulnerability criteria are eligible.
Eligible beneficiaries receive the standard Social Cash Transfer—K800 for ordinary households and K1,200 for households with persons with disabilities—plus a K200 nutrition top-up. This means the standard SCT benefit amounts remain unchanged, with the nutrition top-up providing additional support to improve child nutrition.
By integrating nutrition into social protection, the pilot is strengthening household resilience, improving infant and young child feeding practices, and contributing to Zambia’s goal of reducing child stunting from 32% to 15% by 2030—helping break the cycle of malnutrition and poverty.
