Reality of Zambia 2013

Zambia is rich in natural resources and is home to 13 million peace loving people half of whom are young people. There is a high drop-out rate (two-thirds of those enrolled do not complete grade 12) at the secondary level and HIV incidence rate (three per hour, two of whom are females) is alarming. Zambia falls in the bracket of countries with Low Human Development and has shown minimal gains on the Human Development Index (HDI) value from 0.405 in 1980 to 0.448 in 2012. For 2012, it is ranked 163 of 187 countries. Many Zambians, especially in rural areas, fall far behind on their human development progress. The gender equality measures for Zambia are also at high levels, measuring a gap in the full participation of women in the economic, political and social spheres of society. Zambia loses approximately 250,000 to 300, 0003 hectares of forest each year to deforestation. The country has high youth unemployment, with nearly 90 per cent of working Zambians in the informal sector, where they have little or no job security and are often under paid and underemployed. Zambia remains vulnerable to external shocks, with a turbulent international economic environment being a concern for its key mineral exports. Zambia is a copper and maize-driven economy, and diversification of this economic base is essential for creating jobs, reducing poverty, reversing environmental degradation, and improving the health and well-being of its population. Lack of quality education is a key obstacle for achieving development goals such as reducing poverty, protecting the environment, and growing a healthy population. Zambia needs. 1. Quality education with life skills to provide young people with life-skills in order to ensure a more empowered and healthy young population 2. Better health care 3. Equality (income, gender, geographic and access) 4. Better Job opportunities and Enabling Business Environment (agriculture Diversification), entrepreneurship, employment, financial schemes for youth, women etc 5. Eradication of poverty 6. An honest and responsive government (strengthen decentralized government bodies) 7. Access to clean water and sanitation 8. Protecting natural resources and environment 9. Affordable and nutritious food/food security 10. Better infrastructure including transport and roads, schools and hospitals, accommodation 11. Freedom from discrimination and persecution 12. Support for people who cant work (social protection schemes) 13. Protection against crime and violence 14. Political freedoms 15. Phone and internet access (access to information, including freedom of speech) 16. Action taken on climate change 17. Reliable energy at home
(Based on child led consultations in schools organized by UNICEF and the meetings of the Resident Coordinator with local authorities and stakeholders in April, 2013Muchinga )

Cry of the people to Develop Zambia

1. Quality Education with Life Skills Quality education with life skills, especially at the secondary and tertiary levels, is the top-most priority for Zambians. This is the first time, in a national dialogue or survey that this has come through as the top priority, as stated so clearly across the country. Many Zambian children in villages sit on the floor to attain their primary level education. School enrolment is not equal to achieving proper education. (A Zambian student) A mothers education is more important to her childs survival than is household income or wealth . In Zambia for example, 144 under-five children die per 1,000 live births, if their mothers have no education; the number decreases to 105 deaths per 1,000 live births, if their mothers have secondary or higher education. Similarly, the direct correlation between fertility rates and mothers education is striking in Zambia where women with no years of schooling has fertility rate of 8.2 per cent and with primary education this rate drops to 7.1 % , and with secondary or higher education, the rate 4 % halves. Zambia has made tremendous progress in providing universal access to primary education, but many children fail to complete secondary and tertiary education. Long distances to schools (10-50 km), inability for parents to continue supporting their childrens education, Child-marriages and teen-age pregnancies contribute to high-dropout rates. As many as two-third of the enrolled children do not complete grade 12 and the number of girls dropping out is even higher. Less than 40 pass their final exams in secondary school and only 19 per cent of girls do so leading to serious challenges in achieving overall development objectives. For example, a lack of higher level education limits peoples ability to find decent jobs, engage in public debate or make demands on government for health care, social security and other entitlements. There has been slow improvement in providing children a quality education with relevant learning opportunities. Many districts have a limited number of primary and secondary schools with inadequate teachers, classrooms and teaching/learning equipment, which have had a direct impact on the quality of learning delivered. To fix this problem of poverty, the priority is the education that changes peoples mind Pompi, a Zambian artist in a radio discussion a) free secondary and tertiary level education with life skills for all; and b) improve the quality of education at all levels. The undue focus on primary schooling alone cannot hold anymore. More attention must be paid to secondary and post-secondary quality education and ensuring more girls enter and complete these levels of schooling as well. In Zambias context, retaining well trained teachers in school will be a key to ensure the needed improvements in quality education, As well as more and improved infrastructure to accommodate the young demographic as the numbers entering secondary cannot be accommodated in existing limited facilities.

This is particularly acute in rural areas. Teacher training and teacher housing therefore come across as priority investments to be advocated for. The curriculums and textbooks must be on par with the demand in the job market, to prepare young people to actively engage in and contribute to the development.

2. Better Health Care Zambia has a low average life expectancy of just 49 years. HIV/AIDS, Malaria, TB and increasingly non- communicable diseases cause a heavy toll on mortality and morbidity rates in the country. Health-related issues are therefore prominent in the development discourse and policy agenda, as it was throughout the Post-2015 consultations. Zambia has made good progress in reducing HIV and AIDS prevalence to 14.3% but the rate of infection among young people is still alarming (seven adult Zambians are infected with HIV every hour), and every day 3 children die of malaria. There is also a rise in Zambians getting ill and dying of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The average life expectancy of a Zambian has not yet reached 50 years and every month at least 38 women die during pregnancy and child birth and 138under-fives are dying per 1,000 live births. issues of disabilities and mental health, is high on agenda of Zambians for the Post-2015

3. Equality of Income, Gender, Access and Opportunity Achieving equality in society income, access to services, gender and geographic is at the center of future development priorities for Zambians. As in many other countries, there are considerable and growing inequalities between urban and rural populations as well as men and women. If a rich person eats four to six meals a day, it is important a poor person gets to eat at least two meals a day; but currently in Zambia, a poor person may not get to eat even one proper meal. This should end in Post-2015 period. A university student in Lusaka Western Province has a much lower human development index value (0.321) than Copper belt (0.480)14. The distribution of wealth or management of resources is not really spread. I have been to Copper belt, Solwezi and Mongu, they are very far from what Lusaka is. The point is - it is not about Lusaka, it is about the distribution across... The vision of this country should be bigger than the current government; (therefore) passing of the baton properly is important. Transparency is another issue, if we youth, do not understand how the borrowed money is being managed, make us understand. Pompi, a Zambian singer in a radio discussion HIV prevalence in adult women is higher at 16 per cent compared to men at 12 per cent. Zambia has signed the African Union and South African Development Community (SADC) protocols that call for a more equal participation of women in the formal economy and in political representation. Women made up 52 per cent of the voting block in the 2011 elections, and yet womens representation in Zambias parliament at 11 percent is one of the lowest in the region. Facilities for a number of reasons, such as long distance to schools and lack of transport. High inequalities are linked to less social mobility, and to people being trapped in poverty and other social problems across generations.

4. Better Job Opportunities and an Enabling Business Environment With 52.5 per cent of persons below 18 years and 45.4 per cent below 15 years, Zambia has a young population. They aspire to be educated, to have a better job, or to become an entrepreneur and create job for others. These young men and women consider better job opportunities and an enabling business environment as one of the highest priorities for the Post-2015 development framework. Jobs and livelihood opportunities are central to reducing poverty. There can be no real solution to poverty without secure, meaningful and adequately paid jobs, whether they are in the private or public sectors. It is not only about creating jobs, but it is about creating a better quality of jobs. It is not only about investments, but it is about ensuring investments that benefit local communities At Final Dialogue and Validation Meeting of post 2015 consultation. Women make up a large share of the informal sector work force and many are in unpaid or underpaid jobs, receiving as little as two-fifths of what men receive. Girls and women face gender-based violence (GBV) and problems in accessing credit facilities, as they often do not own land or asset for mortgage. Disability is another common and widely ignored source of inequality. Many children with disabilities do not attend school. Many other children from remote areas do not access educational In Zambia, both the unemployment and youth unemployment rates are higher in urban areas and among males. On the other hand 1 in 10 of working Zambians are in the informal sector, where they have little job security and are often underpaid and underemployed. Job creation is not only a pressing issue in the current weak and volatile economic environment globally, but also a high future priority for Zambian youth as well as the Government of Zambia Eradication of Poverty To achieve a development goal such as poverty reduction, young people should be included as leaders, partners and beneficiaries. We are not passive listeners and recipients Protection of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Zambia is rich in natural resources, but a biggest concern is the trend of deforestation. Zambias green gold is depleting fast and environmental sustainability is at stake Protecting the natural environment and all the rich resources it holds, whether water, forests, minerals, fish and wild life, keeping the air clean this is what will help sustain human progress.

Reality of Mongu
Mongu is the Capital of Western Province, which is the largest administrative region in Zambia with the total land area of 126,385 km2. The geography of the province is dominated by the Barotse floodplains of the Zambezi River. Away from the Zambezi and its tributaries, much of the landscape consists of a vast sandy upland plain of the Kalahari Desert. According with the 2010 Census Population Western Province has a total population of 902,974 and Mongu district has 179,585. Political Situation Mongu town is both the headquarters of Western Province and Barotse Royal Establishment. There are two parallel administrative structures in the district: the political and administrative structure of both Central and Local Governments, and the traditional structure of the Barotse Royal Establishment (BRE). The main public and government building already existing within Mongu Municipality include: Post office, police station, high court of Zambia, subordinate courts, local and central government administration office, Mongu lodge, welfare hall, meteorological station, prison, churches, the general hospital, schools, hotels, guest houses. The council has areas reserved for commercial (such as business houses, shops, bars, clubs and industries) and residential purposes. Economic Situation There are industrial clusters in Mongu town such as natural fibers clusters (baskets, hand bags, curios, jewelries, etc.), wood products (tables, beds, roofing materials, etc.), leather products (shoes and belts), sand and clay products (clay pots and bricks), blacksmithing, agro processing (cassava, cashew, rice, fish, beef, mango, guava, vegetables), metal fabrication (welding, making window and door frames), mining (quarrying sand for bricks and building materials). Agriculture: the majority of the people in Mongu are peasant farmers: maize, rice, beans, groundnuts, cashew nuts, sweet potatoes, cassava, vegetables, etc. The farming season was compromised by various factors in view of unreliable weather conditions which have led to poor crop yields in most parts of Mongu. Fisheries sector: the entire Zambezi River system has 122 fish species on record to date. A total of 98 species have been recorded in the Upper Zambezi River. Fisheries are a major feature of the wetland areas and comprise a large proportion of local households, plus outsiders who resided in fishing camps. Fishing is primarily undertaken by men; but women and children help during peak fishing periods, typically using more traditional methods. Fishing is strongly seasonal in the Upper Zambezi River fishery. Fishing activities are conveniently complementary to agricultural activities in that peak periods of each do not generally overlap. Employment: The high unemployment and poverty levels in the Province are a major concern to the local people themselves and Government. Only 9% of persons aged 12 years and above in Mongu district are in the formal sector compared to 14% and 77% in the informal sector agricultural and informal sector non agricultural respectively. It has been increasing the number of women who has pressure to provide for their households. From a gender perspective as households become poorer, women tend to find means of contributing to household income thereby increasing womens burden. Infrastructure: There is no road, water, communication and health service infrastructure. Mongu is not well supplied with paved roads. The main one and the chief access for the Province is the 610 kilometers Lusaka-Mongu road or Great West Road.

Climate change: Mongu district is located in the medium rainfall belt of Zambia with annual precipitation. The rainy season is from October/November to April/May. Rainfall is heaviest between December and February. There are four seasons: flooding period, cold and dry period, extremely hot period before of the rainy season and moderate period with heavy rains. Social Situation Poverty: the level of poverty in Mongu district is still the highest in the country, about 84%. Health sector: the disease prevalence in Mongu is malaria, HIV/AIDS, STIs and tuberculosis. Aside from these, other diseases contribute significantly to the disease burden in western province such as acute respiratory infections, diarrhea, worm infestations and bilharzias and non-communicable diseases. HIV and AIDS: HIV prevalence in the province is estimated at 15.2% of the population aged 15 to 49. The infection rate is higher among women, at 16.1% than men at 13.9%. The HIV and AIDS pandemic has continued to impact negatively on labour productivity and national economic development. The effects on labour productivity include high medical costs, loss of person-hours, loss of skilled labour, and increased funeral costs. Ethnicity: the Lozi are the major ethnic group in the province. The Lozi are traditionally cattle-keepers. They are a collection of 24 subgroups, with a well-established system of traditional rulers headed by the Litunga. The Litunga is assisted by sub-chiefs. The seasonal migrations of the Litunga and his court from the dry-season capital of Lealui, on the Zambezi flood-plain, to Limulunga, is an important cultural and now tourist event called the Kuomboka. Education sector: the major challenges in the Early Childhood Care, Development and Education (ECCDE) sub-sector in the Province include fragmented curriculum; lack of coherent policy, standards monitoring and supervision; and confining of ECCDE to pre-schooling instead of offering a more comprehensive learning experience. Financing of ECCDE has remained unclear as most of the learning dispensed at this level is in the hands of private providers. The high school education sub-sector (Grades 10 to 12) has received slower growth compared to basic school sector. High school education is facing even greater gender disparities than basic education in all key indicators. Water and Sanitation: Western Province has vast water resources in form of rivers, streams, lakes and ground water. Water resource management has not succeeded to substantially improve access to water or prevent the pollution of both surface and groundwater. In agriculture, water is an important factor as a major input in irrigation, livestock watering, aquaculture, fisheries, food processing and other industries. There is a significant population number who is still struggled by the lack of water and sanitation supply.