The USAID Scaling Up Nutrition Technical Assistance activity works to ensure that more of Zambia’s children grow up healthy, strong, and capable. Malnutrition impairs growth and development in children as a result of poor feeding practices, repeated infection, and inadequate early child stimulation. Chronic malnutrition affects 35 percent of Zambian children under the age of five. Chronic malnutrition causes poor cognition and educational performance along with other harmful, lifelong effects. Zambia is a member of the global Scaling Up Nutrition network that seeks to end childhood malnutrition.

  • Life of Project: February 2019 - February 2026
  • Geographic Focus: Central, Copperbelt, Northern, and Luapula Provinces
  • Partner: DAI Global, LLC.
  • Chief of Party: Karen Doll
  • Total USAID Funding: $71.7 million
  • USAID Contact: Helen Khunga Chirwa - hkhunga@usaid.gov

 

GOALS 

goal one 
Adequate quantity and quality of diet among children under two and pregnant and lactating women by providing coordinated and impactful nutrition programs at the household level

goal two
Adequate health conditions good nutrition, reducing stunting by two percent per year in select districts across Zambia

KEY RESULTS FOR 2023 

  • 65,404 individuals used improved management practices in agriculture such as certified seed, minimum tillage, integrated pest management, mulching, crop rotation and intercropping
  • Program participants accessed $625,553 in agriculture related financing, a 13.2 percent increase, which means more disposable income for households to withstand shock
  • Program participants produced 1.93 metric tons of maize, 570 kilograms of mixed beans and one metric ton of soya beans
  • 5,253 farmers were exposed to commercial enterprises, markets, products and services such as demo plots, seed varieties, treadle pumps and village chicken feed
  • The hectares of land under improved management practices and technologies increased from 10,000 hectares in 2022 to 23,877 hectares in 2023 
  • 1,537 new Community Savings and Loan Groups were established, expanding access to finance for households across the 13 districts. This led to the formation of over 13,000 new micro, small, and medium enterprises, providing income for nearly 86,000 households. At the end of 2023,  Community Savings and Loan Group had cumulative savings of over ZMW 48 million ($2.2 million)
  • The Community Led Total Nutrition Triggering approach resulted in nutrition services being provided in 2,625 villages across 413 health facility catchments reaching 127,846 (94,045 females and 33,801 males) primary caregivers, out of which 4,994 were pregnant women (4,347 normal pregnancy and 647 teen pregnancy) and 27,663 children (0-23 months)
  • 1,704 community health workers provided family planning information and referrals and services 
  • 1,628,206 people in the target population were exposed to family planning messages through radio, television, electronic platforms, community group dialogues, interpersonal communication and print media
  • 108,135 people gained access to drinking water and 80,020 people received improved service quality from existing drinking or safely managed water services
  • 559,280 people gained access to a basic sanitation service and 759 communities were verified as open defecation free 
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