CAMFED Zambia was launched in 2001 to tackle girls' exclusion from education.
Supporting girls to learn and lead in Zambia
CAMFED has been operating in Zambia since 2001, when we were invited to support the Ministry of Education to improve access to and completion of education for rural girls.
Despite having obtained a lower middle income status, Zambia continues to face high levels of poverty and inequality. Girls experience high rates of exclusion from education, particularly in the rural areas of the Western, Luapula, Muchinga and Northern provinces where CAMFED operates. These provinces fare much worse than others in government assessments of income levels, education and health, although educational outcomes across the country continue to be poor.
By 2024, we had expanded our Zambia operations from 3 districts to 61. Today, CAMFED Zambia works with government ministries, schools, communities, and local stakeholders, to improve learning outcomes and widen educational access for girls and disadvantaged children.
Girls in rural and remote Zambia continue to face substantial material and psycho-social barriers to education, including lack of school requisites, long distances to school, early marriages and unintended pregnancies. The support from CAMFED has enabled the most disadvantaged girls — who had lost hope of staying in school and receiving education — to learn and aspire for greatness without worrying about school-going costs and other pressures. Our programs respond to the challenges these girls face and open up many bright possibilities for the future. CAMFED responds with urgency to the educational needs of these girls because it is the difference between staying in school and being pushed out.
Namenda Malupande, Executive Director, CAMFED Zambia
