•ACTING President Inonge Wina yesterday met a high-level delegation of MPs from Parliament of Sweden. She is captured here with Swedish MPs Ulrika Karlsson, Maria Andersson Willner, Annika Lillemets, Ola Johansson, Karin Ragsjo and Christina Ornebjar. Picture courtesy of the Zambian Embassy in Sweden

By TIMES REPORTER –
THE Swedish government has informed Acting President Inonge Wina that plans to release an estimated K400 million meant for the health sector have reached an advanced stage.
This was revealed by Charge d’Affaires of the Swedish Embassy in Lusaka David Wiking when he led a high-level delegation of Swedish members of Parliament that paid a courtesy call on Ms Wina yesterday.
“We are cooperating with Zambia on several fronts and one of them involves about K400 million that is in the pipeline for Zambia this year for the health sector as soon as all agreements are concluded,” Mr Wiking said.
Mr Wiking’s delegation included six senior MPs from the Sveriges Riksdag as the Swedish parliament is traditionally known.
The MPs were in Zambia to explore ways of further enhancing diplomatic relations with Zambia, especially as far as issues around reproductive health, child mortality and maternal mortality were concerned.
Karin Ragsjo, an MP from the Left Party of Sweden, told Ms Wina that there were some concerns around the use of contraceptives among the youth, especially in Sweden which she hoped was not the case in Zambia.
Ola Johannsson of the Centre Party said the delegation was happy with what they had seen in terms of bridging the gender divide in Zambia and of course the reduction in sexually transmitted diseases.
Ms Wina said challenges remained but was confident that Zambia would continue pushing down maternal and child mortality rates with the corporation of partners such as Sweden.
“We are also concerned about the rights of women because women are still not entirely safe even when in their own homes,” she said. “Despite them being bearers of children, they remain unable to say how many children they can have…We have to step up sensitisation of women’s and children’s rights.”
Deputy Ambassador of Zambia to Sweden Anthony Mukwita, who was part of the meeting, described it as a visible and practical success of warm, beneficial relations between two countries.
“If the parliamentarians are happy with what they have seen and learnt about Zambia, it makes us happy as diplomats,” Mr Mukwita said.
The delegates list included Ulrika Karlsson, Maria Andersson Willner, Annika Lillemets, Mr Ola Johansson, Karin Ragsjo, Christina Ornebjar and Annika Malmborg from civil society.