July 06, 2022

On a recent visit to Southern Africa, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Samantha Power spent a week in Zambia and Malawi, where she met with local farmers, agribusiness owners, and government officials to discuss the impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine on food security and nutrition in the region, among other issues.

In Zambia, Power visited with women participating in the Scaling Up Nutrition Technical Assistance (Zambia SUN TA) project in the Chibombo District. The women farmers belong to community savings and loans groups that are helping increase women’s access to finance. SUN TA layers interventions in nutrition, health, agriculture, and water, sanitation, and hygiene to build the capacity of Zambian counterparts. For example, the project supported the Ministry of Health to train more than 1,500 community volunteers to expand family planning service coverage to more rural Zambian communities. The volunteers collectively reached more 200,353 people, a 1,000 percent increase over 2020.

Power with USAID Local Impact staff. Photo: USAID Local Impact.

Power also toured an activity supported by the DAI-led Local Impact Governance Project (Local Impact). The activity, a local community service delivery mapping exercise, generates maps that are essential resources for local authorities in developing Integrated Development Plans. In the process, Local Impact is also expanding the capacities of local authority staff and ward development committees to generate and use GIS data in planning.

Participants during the zone mapping exercise. Photo: USAID Local Impact.

Power applauded Zambia for moving in the right democratic direction and for prioritizing local governance and community development, as evidenced in the increased domestic funding for the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), from 1.6 million Zambian Kwachas to 25.7 million. Speaking in an interview after the community service delivery mapping activity in Mungule ward, she said, “The increased CDF by the Zambian United Party for National Development government through the local government will give the community pride to choose community projects they want in their respective constituency.”

She added that when the community is part of decision making, projects are likely to be safeguarded and this gives communities a sense of ownership.

Power also made a major programming announcement in Zambia. On June 29, she formally launched TradeBoost Zambia, a $30 million activity that is among the first projects to be launched through the Prosper Africa Trade and Investment project. TradeBoost will amplify market intelligence, increase investment in Zambian businesses, and direct targeted trade facilitation support to Zambian businesses to reach regional and international markets.

Power interviewed by Spice FM community radio. Photo: USAID Local Impact.

“Now that Zambia has individuals who are committing to the rule of law and fighting corruption,” Power emphasized, “the U.S. Government is very excited about the democratic direction that Zambia is going in.”