Seizing the Opportunity to Sustain Economic Growth by Investing in Undernutrition in Zambia

Abstract

It is to the credit of the Zambian leadership and the development community that a great deal of momentum for nutrition has been built in the past few years. The level of undernutrition in Zambia is high and persistent, with almost one in every two children stunted for their age. In June 2013 the Zambian Government pledged to cut this rate by half over the next ten years. The challenge now is to turn that momentum into increased, and more equitable, programme coverage, improved quality of service delivery and a wider set of nutrition-sensitive interventions that support nutrition. While government buy-in and effort are necessary, they are not sufficient; undernutrition reduction requires a concerted cross-sectoral effort, including civil society, researchers, the private sector, the media and international development partners. The current strong economic growth in Zambia can be used as a positive driver to improve nutrition and therefore improve long-term human development and economic productivity.