Sida's work in Zambia
Sida's work in Zambia aims to strengthen democracy and increase respect for human rights and gender equality, improve the conditions for economic development and livelihoods, and promote climate and environmentally sustainable development.
Why does Sida work in Zambia?
High levels of poverty and inequality
Just over 60 per cent of the population lives in poverty, making Zambia one of the world’s poorest countries. Zambia is also one of the world’s most unequal countries, with very wide disparities between urban and rural areas. The country has one of the world’s highest rates of learning poverty, with children lacking basic literacy and numeracy skills. Young people lack the knowledge and skills required by the labour market.
Climate change and low agricultural productivity
More than half of the country’s population earns a living from agriculture and is severely affected by the impacts of climate change, such as droughts, floods, rising temperatures and heavy, unpredictable rainfall. The fact that such a large proportion of the population are subsistence farmers makes it difficult for them to increase their income. Zambia needs to produce more goods, grow a variety of crops and develop value chains in order to boost productivity and enable more people to earn a living.
Inefficient public administration and weak institutions
Zambia has relatively progressive laws, but weak public administration hinders their implementation, and enforcement is poor. This applies across all areas, from gender equality and opportunities to start businesses to tax administration, and contributes to inefficiency, inequality and corruption.
Examples of what Sida has contributed to
More people are gaining access to sustainable energy
Around 1.8 million Zambians who previously lacked access to the mains electricity grid have gained access to basic electricity services thanks to Sida’s Beyond the Grid Fund. This has been achieved through collaboration with private companies, whilst the market for these products has developed. Through the Modern Cooking Facility for Africa, people will gain access to clean cooking facilities.
The fight against corruption
Sida’s support for Transparency International Zambia has helped to step up the fight against corruption. A special fast-track court for economic crimes has been established. Several high-ranking officials and ministers have been dismissed or arrested by the police, and charges have been brought in connection with allegations of corruption. The legal proceedings are taking a long time, but a number of verdicts have been handed down.
Better prospects for girls and women
Sida supports social protection systems in Zambia, focusing on the most vulnerable people. This includes, amongst other things, support for girls so that they can complete their education, and support and training for women to start and develop small businesses. This helps to reduce poverty and ensures that girls and women have better opportunities for the future.
Sida's development cooperation in Zambia
Sida supports projects in Zambia aimed at strengthening inclusive economic development, promoting gender equality, contributing to greater democracy, improving access to and respect for sexual and reproductive health and rights, and promoting environmentally and climatically sustainable development.
Sida’s development cooperation is intended to strengthen human rights, including sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), and democracy; reduce corruption; and promote gender equality.
These are some examples supported by Sida:
Sida supports Zambia’s National Audit Office to strengthen its expertise and independency. Thanks to improved working methods, it is now able to deliver higher-quality audit reports on time. During the course of this collaboration, it has also improved its international rating, which demonstrates enhanced capacity and better alignment with international auditing standards.
Sida’s support for Transparency International Zambia has also helped to step up the fight against corruption. A special fast-track court for economic crimes has been established. Several high-ranking officials and ministers have been dismissed or arrested by the police, and charges have been brought in connection with allegations of corruption. The legal proceedings are taking a long time, but a number of verdicts have been handed down.
Sida cooperates with BBC Media Action, which strengthens the country’s media sector by, for example, training journalists on election monitoring, human rights reporting and ethical matters. Media organisations and journalists have implemented a mechanism for media to regulate themselves without government interference.
Sida supports the National Legal Aid Clinic for Women, which works to strengthen respect for the rights of vulnerable women and children by offering access to legal aid and other forms of support – more than 2,000 people a year receive help and support. The organisation also educates people about their rights and how the legal system works, and advocates for new legislation to promote the rights of women and children.
About the work at the National Legal Aid Clinic for Women’s website
Child marriage, unwanted pregnancies, HIV and domestic violence affect many people in Zambia. Support for UNESCO has strengthened the national framework for sex education through the development of national guidelines and has also contributed this year to a revised policy on the return to school for teenage mothers. Sida also collaborates with the organisation MSI Reproductive Choices, which provides information and advice on contraception and safe abortions.
Reducing poverty and creating more jobs requires reforms in the agricultural sector, including a review of subsidies and the development of value chains and markets, as well as improvements to the quality of education and its relevance to the needs of the labour market.
Here are some examples of programmes and projects supported by Sida:
Sida supports social protection systems in Zambia, focusing on the most vulnerable people. Through the ‘Keeping Girls in School’ initiative, girls from poor families receive support to complete their education. Sida also supports ‘Supporting Women’s Livelihoods’, which provides women with grants and training to start or develop small businesses. These initiatives help to reduce poverty, increase livelihood security and improve future prospects for women and girls.
Thanks to We Effect’s support, over 7,800 women received certificates confirming their right to use and cultivate land. This achievement was driven by 44 local groups, which raised awareness of the benefits of granting women more secure land rights and engaged in dialogue with both local leaders and residents. Once the model had gained support within the local communities, the company Medeem was commissioned to register the land rights. Traditional leaders were responsible for approving the registrations and resolving any disputes, whilst the local groups provided information and carried out follow-up work. Through collaboration between local communities, traditional leaders and the business sector, more women gained access to documented land rights.
Zambia is severely affected by the impacts of climate change, such as drought, flooding, rising temperatures and heavy, unpredictable rainfall. The large section of Zambia’s population that depends on natural resources for their livelihoods is particularly hard hit. In Zambia, and particularly in rural areas, many people lack access to electricity.
Sida supports projects that contribute to increased access to electricity from renewable sources and climate-smart agriculture. Here are some examples of projects supported by Sida:
Through the EU co-funded Green Nexus programme, Sida supports local authorities, local communities and small-scale farmers in managing climate risks. Over 46,000 small-scale farmers have been trained in climate-smart agriculture, and more than half have started using improved farming methods. This strengthens the capacity to cope with climate change and improve food and livelihood security.
Through the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency’s ZAMNEX programme, Zambian environmental and mining authorities have strengthened their capacity to prevent and manage environmental and climate risks linked to the growing mining sector. The need for this has been highlighted by several dam failures, including one in Chambishi in 2025. In the Solwezi district, the authorities are trialling an early weather warning system developed by the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI). By using weather and environmental data, they can better prepare for droughts, floods and other climate-related risks.
The Beyond the Grid Fund for Africa helps people who are not connected to the electricity grid to gain access to renewable and affordable electricity. When Sida and the Swedish Embassy in Zambia launched the project in 2017, 4 per cent of the rural population had access to basic electricity services for lighting.
Today, about 1,8 million people have gained access to electricity through the project. This renewable electricity reduces the impact on the climate, helps to create jobs and improves living conditions for people in rural areas.
Updated: October 15, 2026