With support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and Japan Trust Fund (JTF) and in cooperation with International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), the Asian Population and Development Association (APDA) and Zambia All Party Parliamentary Group on Population and Development (ZAPPD) organized a workshop on population issues on 8 August.

The workshop highlighted the challenges that Zambia faces, such as persistent poverty, high fertility rate (4.7), high school dropout and high unemployment rate. According to the Planned Parenthood Association of Zambia (PPAZ), which is a Member Association of IPPF, 20% of married women have an unmet need for family planning and 47% of ever-married women have experienced physical, sexual, or emotional violence. In order to address these challenges, ZAPPD, together with a consultant, will develop a 5-year Strategic Plan as part of its strengthening activity. For this, ZAPPD set up 4 sub-groups (Budget, Legislation, Oversight and Representation) to make recommendations that will be reflected in the Strategic Plan.

More than 30 participants including government officials and representatives of Civil Society Organizations attended the workshop (22 of whom were parliamentarians), which helped ZAPPD recruit new members. ZAPPD Chair Hon. Princess Kasune was thankful to UNFPA and APDA for their partnership, as well as their contributions to enhancing parliamentarians’ capacity.

Inter Press Service (IPS)
Zambian Parliamentarians Tackle Population Issues to Improve Quality of Life for Citizens
https://www.ipsnews.net/2022/09/zambian-parliamentarians/