Minister assures of people-centred development approach

GOVERNMENT is putting people at the centre of sustainable development as they are the most important and valuable resource, Minister of National Development Alexander Chiteme has said. Mr Chiteme who was leading the Zambian delegation to the High Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development at UN Headquarters in New York, said Zambia’s attainment of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was dependent on inclusivity of all nationals. Mr. Chiteme said the Zambian government, through the Ministry of National Development Planning, would continue to invest in national and community level programmes aimed at prioritising the health of the people, to fulfill the promise we made to secure individual dignity and human rights, 25 years ago at the inaugural ICPD in Cairo. “The government of Zambia recognises that implementing the ICPD’s programme of action is a pathway towards improving its citizens’ quality of life. The principles of the ICPD therefore, continue to be at the centre of Zambia’s development agenda, as attested by the current Seventh National Development Plan-20172021, which was formulated using the integrated approach to development in order to achieve the SDGs and (Zambia’) Vision 2030,” the Minister said. Mr Chiteme said over the past 25 years, Zambia had made progress towards implementing the ICPD Programme of Action. He cited the decline in maternal mortality ratio from 649 in 1996 to 278 in 2018; a reduction in infant mortality from 107 in 1992 to 42 in 2018; decline in total fertility rate from 6.5 in 1992 to 4.7 in 2018; increased modern contraceptive use from 9 percent in 1992 to 48 percent in 2018 and; declined unmet need for contraception from 30 percent to 20 percent from 1992 to 2018 as some of the notable achievements. He said despite these achievements, much remains to be done as 54 percent of Zambians, especially women and girls, continued to live in poverty. Mr. Chiteme told UN member states that President Edgar Lungu in his capacity as the champion on ending child marriage in Africa, together with the African Union (AU), continued to guide the campaign.