By BRIAN WAINYAE –

female youths are evidently the most vulnerable in society as they are often exposed to gender-based violence, early pregnancy and high school dropout.
This has ultimately contributed to direct child and maternal mortality and under-nutrition, thus limiting the contribution these young women could make to the development and prosperity of their households, communities and the nation.
However, this scenario will soon change for the better following the launch of a project that is tailored towards improving their status.
The recent launch of the Zambian Female Youth Livelihood and Nutrition Enhancement in Kaoma District in Western Province, which is a three-year pilot project, aims at improving the livelihood of young girls and women aged between 10 and 24 years through practical interventions, and targets more than 6,000 female youths, whether in school or not.
Japanese Ambassador to Zambia Kiyoshi Koinuma said that his government was supporting the project under the Japan Social Development Fund (JSDF) through the World Bank.
JSDF was founded in June 2000 by the Government of Japan and is intended for sustainable social programmes such as capacity building and empowerment that directly support the most vulnerable people.
So far, the government of Japan has contributed approximately US$660 million towards this fund.
Mr Koinuma said that Japan also hosted ‘The World Assembly for Women in Tokyo’ last August to promote women’s active role in Japan and the world over.
This year, the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) will be held in Nairobi, Kenya, and the thrust of the meeting will be to discuss women empowerment, which is one of the cross-cutting objectives of the conference.
“The Government of Japan has been supporting Zambia in various fields such as health, education and agriculture. In the area of support for women, we are funding Japanese non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that implement projects for the improvement of maternal and child health,” Mr Koinuma said.
Meanwhile, the African Region country manager Ina-Marlene Ruthenberg has said that the goal of the World Bank Group is to apply the world’s best ideas, knowledge and experience in development to accomplish its twin goals which include ending poverty by 2030 and boosting shared prosperity.
Ms Ruthenberg said that in an attempt to improve the health and nutrition of women and their children, the project would be done through girl clubs which would reach out to 4,700 female youths aged between 10 and 24 years during the important transitional period as girls develop into adults and start motherhood.
She further said that 2,500 young women aged between 15 and 24 years would receive input packages and training to increase year-round production of micronutrient-rich foods.
More importantly, these beneficiaries would go through a curriculum to develop life skills, hence bringing about informed optimal health and nutrition practices.
This is expected to be an improvement over the current approach where young women cannot access much support for improved health or nutrition until they are pregnant and accessing antenatal care.
Ministry of Health Permanent Secretary Peter Mwaba acknowledged the pivotal role that Concern Worldwide Zambia was playing in uplifting the livelihood of women.
Dr Mwaba said that Concern Worldwide Zambia had been working to improve the productivity and incomes of local farmers and reduce the risks to them posed by floods and droughts through support to the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) structures of the Government at both district and community levels.
He further said that this project focused on improving their livelihoods, health, nutrition and life skills to give them a stronger start to their adult lives as mothers and income earners.
“As Government and district administration, we are committed to providing the required support and facilitation for the successful implementation of this project,’’ Dr Mwaba said.
“Given its track record in accomplishing different projects effectively, I am confident that this project will be implemented successfully in collaboration with Government at different levels and the target communities.”
Concern Worldwide Zambia has been operational in the district for more than a decade now and it is a strong collaborating partner with a commitment to addressing extreme poverty.
The project requires joint efforts, and full involvement and collaboration of staff from different sectors at the district and ward levels.
What is also required is full community support, engagement and active participation in the proposed activities for the project to be a success and avoid it turning into a white elephant once the project phases out.—NAIS