The Challenge
Zambia is one of the world's poorest countries. While most countries of the world have enjoyed increased prosperity in the past three decades, Zambia has seen its per capita income drop by 5% annually in the past thirty years, and its average life expectancy fall from 54 years in 1980 to 37 years today. Nearly 70% of Zambians live below the poverty line which is set at US$1 per day. Poverty and food insecurity are widespread in both rural and urban areas, and the country remains extremely vulnerable to recurring natural disasters, including floods, drought and animal disease.
HIV/ Aids
The HIV/AIDS pandemic has exacerbated food insecurity levels and contributed to a decline in socioeconomic activity. According to UNAIDS , Zambia 's national HIV prevalence rate is 17 percent.
At the end of 2005, UNAIDS/WHO estimates that 17% of Zambian people aged 15-49 years old were living with HIV or AIDS. Of these million adults, 57% were women. Young women aged 15-19 are around six times more likely to be infected than are males of the same age.
Nearly half of Zambia 's population is under 15 years old. According to UNAIDS/WHO estimates, 130,000 of these children were living with HIV or AIDS at the end of 2003.
“During 2000-05, Zambia will have the world's lowest life expectancy at birth: 32.4. Although Zambia 's life expectancy is projected to increase, AIDS will reduce life expectancy by 26 to 39 percent through 2050.
By 2000, 749,000 Zambians had died because of AIDS, with AIDS having increased the number of deaths in the country by 32 percent. By 2015, AIDS will have increased the number of deaths by 83 percent, bringing the cumulative total of AIDS deaths to 2.8 million. By 2050, 6.2 million Zambians will have died because of the epidemic.”
Water
Most of the rural population in southern Zambia practices rain-fed agricultural, where seed, primarily maize (corn) is sown at the start of the rainy season in November, and harvested in March. The prolonged dry season (April though October) with virtually no rain eliminates the possibility of further cropping for farmers who have no means of irrigating their gardens.. This historical pattern of subsistence farming has led to a diminished knowledge of other cropping methods, and the absence of adequate, year-round water-sources has severely restricted the production of other food products.
“The preponderance of rain-fed agriculture and very low use of its water resources make Zambian agriculture highly prone to the vagaries of nature, and this has resulted in frequent crop failures…” ZAMBIA-Emergency Drought Recovery Project Africa Regional Office, The World Bank November 19, 2002
| Zambia | Canada | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 11.5 million | 31.96 million |
| National HIV Prevalence | 17% | 0.3% |
| Life expectancy at birth | 37 years | 80.2 years |
| Under 5 mortality | 182 / 1000 live births | 6 / 1000 live births |
| Number of orphans | 1.2 million | ** |
| % population malnourished | 47% | ** |
| Human Development Index | 165th of 177 countries ranked | 6th of 177 |
| People living on less than $1 a day | 69% | ** |
| GDP per capita | US $471 | $31,263 |