EMERGENCY ALERT
All children in Zambia are now out of school as a deadly cholera outbreak, which has killed over 500 people, poses deadly harm.
Our emergency response teams are working around the clock to contain the spread of cholera while also providing education support, emergency cash assistance and more. Your donation today can help protect children around the world who are at risk of disease and impacted by crisis.
Help Children in Zambia
Many Zambian children, especially those living in communities lacking roads and infrastructure, struggle to access healthcare, education and basic services. But there is hope: In 2013, Zambia initiated a Basic Education program. This program focuses on improving the learning outcomes of children in primary school, giving them hope for a brighter future and a chance to break the cycle of poverty.
Zambia has had several major cholera outbreaks since the 1970’s but this current outbreak is the worst in 20 years.
This latest health crisis in Zambia is posing a threat to children’s well-being, education and protection not seen since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cholera is a highly contagious disease that spreads quickly through contaminated water.
It can also spread rapidly in areas with inadequate treatment of sewerage, flooded areas, and areas without safe drinking water.
The outbreak is being linked to climate change.
Specifically, the outbreak is being linked to warmer weather and unusually heavy rains and storms in southern Africa in recent months.
In response to the climate crisis, Save the Children is supporting children and their families impacted by drought and floods, providing education support, emergency cash and voucher assistance and school feeding programs.
Save the Children is working with the Zambian government to try to track and contain the spread of cholera.
Our teams are working with the Zambian government to try to track and contain the spread of cholera through the provision of water and hygiene services, case management, and health staff at cholera treatment centers, as well as supporting the Ministry of Education at schools with chlorine, handwashing sets, soap, hand sanitizers, waste bins, and disinfectants.
Save the Children has been working in Zambia for 40 years, running health, nutrition, education and protection programs across the country.
More than 500 people have died and all children are out of school.
More than 500 people have died and at least 13,000 people have been confirmed with cholera since the outbreak was first reported in October 2023.
A daily average of 400 new cases have been reported over the past seven days.
About 4.3 million school-aged children in Zambia – or every school-aged child in the country - will remain at home following an announcement to keep schools closed in a bid to stem the cholera outbreak.
The Challenge for Zambia's Children
Living in poverty, with little access to healthcare and education, children in Zambia need your help.*
54% of people live in poverty
1 child in 17 dies before their 5th birthday - 8 times that of the United States
40% of children suffer from stunting due to malnutrition
22% of school-age children are out of school
41% of children are engaged in child labor
17% of girls age 15-19 are married
1 in 12 girls between age 15-19 gives birth
44% of girls age 15 and older struggle to read or write
Our Work for Children in Zambia
Save the Children has worked in Zambia since 1983. In that short time we have helped children in Zambia access quality healthcare, education, protection and nutrition services. We used this initial time to focus our resources on implementing programs in the largest district in the Copperbelt Province of Zambia. The area remains the least developed in terms of infrastructure, social amenities and road networks.
Protected 259,545 children from harm
Supported 7,291 children in times of crisis
Provided 97,430 children with a healthy start in life
Supported 4,249 parents to provide for their children’s basic needs
How to Help Children in Zambia
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Sources: * Unless otherwise noted, facts and statistics have been sourced from Save the Children’s monitoring and evaluation experts and from the 2019 Global Childhood Report. You can access detailed data here. Other sources as follows: Population: CIA World Factbook; The World Bank, 2016; Unesco Institute for Statistics (UIS)