The level of undernutrition in Zambia is high and persistent. The increasing commitment of Zambian and international stakeholders to changing this situation holds out the prospect a real decline in undernutrition over the coming years. In addition, the current strong growth of GDP per capita is potentially a positive driver of future undernutrition decline.
Despite these increased opportunities for undernutrition reduction, however, there are several real threats to progress. Based on a combination of research evidence and long experience of working in the country, the authors in this IDS Special Collection describe some of these opportunities and threats in Zambia and suggest ways of seizing the former and dealing with the latter.
The articles in this IDS Special Collection show how the commitment to nutrition has been built in Zambia, and provide some pointers and guides to the ways in which that increased commitment could be leveraged to raise resources and how to allocate these. Zambia is potentially on the cusp of a great economic transformation. Can gains in economic growth from temporary mineral resources be translated into gains in child growth which reduce mortality and suffering, as well as serving to power economic growth in a sustainable way?
Or will we see a situation where current fast economic growth is another redundant flash in the pan? By investing much more of their increasing stream of tax revenues in malnutrition-reducing efforts, Zambian policymakers can make the transformation vision much more likely. In this way, economic growth can be made more sustainable and more transformative. Investing in the most vulnerable members of its society – children under the age of two and their mothers – is a sure-fire way for Zambia to turn fast economic growth into meaningful growth, not only of its economy, but of its population.
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Introduction – Turning Rapid Growth into Meaningful Growth: Sustaining the Commitment to Nutrition in Zambia Jody Harris, Silke Seco Grütz, Cassim Masi and Lawrence Haddad
Key issues affecting undernutrition in Zambia
The Impact of Rising Food Prices on Child Nutrition in Zambia Miniva Chibuye
Does Exposure to Aflatoxin Constrain Efforts to Reduce Stunting in Zambia? Suraiya Ismail, John Shindano, Drinah Banda Nyirenda, Ranajit Bandyopadhyay and Juliet Akello
The Role of Fish in the First 1,000 Days in Zambia Catherine Longley, Shakuntala Haraksingh Thilsted, Malcolm Beveridge, Steven Cole, Drinah Banda Nyirenda, Simon Heck and Anne-Louise Hother
Responses to child undernutrition in Zambia: Programme Experiences
The Impact of an Unconditional Cash Transfer on Food Security and Nutrition: The Zambia Child Grant Programme David Seidenfeld, Sudhanshu Handa, Gelson Tembo, Stanfield Michelo, Charlotte Harland Scott and Leah Prencipe
Cash or Food? Which Works Better to Improve Nutrition Status and Treatment Adherence for HIV Patients Starting Antiretroviral Therapy Beatrice Mazinza Kawana, Musonda J. Mofu, Ward S. Siamusantu, Kabaso F. Kabwe, Bupe B. Bwalya, Gelson Tembo, Jay Goulden and Levyson Banda
Spirulina Effectiveness Study on Child Malnutrition in Zambia Kazuya Masuda, Yuta Inoue, Ryo Inoue, Akiko Nakamura, Maureen Chitundu, Junko Murakami, Yumiko Ota and Junichiro Matsugami
The Rainbow Project: A Model to Fight Child Malnutrition in Zambia Stefania Moramarco, Giulia Amerio, Gloria Gozza Maradini and Elisabetta Garuti
Interventions and Approaches that are Proven to Work in Reducing Child Malnutrition in Zambia Chikontwe Mulenga
Role of Government and Civil Society in scaling up Nutrition Response
The Role of Civil Society in Spotlighting Nutrition William Chilufya, Marjolein Smit-Mwanamwenge and Eneyah Botoman Phiri
Intersectoral Coordination for Nutrition in Zambia Scott Drimie, Subrata Kumar Chakrabarty, Christopher Dube, Marjolein Smit-Mwanamwenge, Rahul Rawat and Jody Harris
Reflections on the Role of Donors in Scaling Up Nutrition in Zambia from 2010 to 2013: Successes, Challenges and Lessons Learnt Silke Seco Grütz, Maurice Sadlier and Dominique Brunet
Editors
