Govt assures on readiness to eradicate poverty via improved social protection schemes

Government has assured Zambians of its readiness to eradicate poverty through enhanced social protection measures and policies.

Community Development and Social Services Minister, Doreen Mwamba, said government was keen to ensure that people lived dignified lives by ending poverty, which restricted opportunities, diminished human dignity, and perpetuated inequality.

Mwamba said this during the Civil Society for Poverty Reduction (CSPR)-organised commemoration of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty on Saturday, under the theme, “Decent Work and Social Protection: Putting Dignity in Practice for All.”

“Government is committed to the development and implementation of policies, programs, and initiatives aimed at ensuring that citizens have access to decent work and social protection,” she further said.

Mwamba stated that the theme conveyed the idea of promoting and ensuring that all individuals had access to fair, equitable, and dignified employment opportunities, as well as social protection measures that safeguarded their well-being and basic needs.

Mwamba further said government had since put in place various measures such as the 8th National Development Plan (8NDP), as well as debt restructuring, to tackle poverty.

She emphasised that poverty eradication was not an isolated effort, but required collective action, cooperation, and partnerships, not only within the country’s borders, but also on a global scale.

Speaking at the same event, Zambia National Women’s Lobby Executive Director, Juliet Chibuta, acknowledged the several social protection and labour policies and programmes that government had put in place to address poverty.

Chibuta hailed the increased budgetary allocation to social protection as it had been able to provide support to more people who needed it.

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