Zambia has reaffirmed its commitment to achieving universal access to education as espoused by the country’s 2030 vision and the Sustainable Development Goals.
During the General Debate at the 56th Session of the Commission on Population and Development at the UN Headquarters in New York, Acting Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Finance and National Planning, Ms Lois Mulube, told participants that the Zambian Government was committed to the total implementation of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Programme of Action in the quest of achieving the internationally agreed goals, especially in the education sector.
This year’s CPD56 is being held under the theme, “Population, education and sustainable development.”
And Ms Mulube said the theme was in line with the ICPD’s Programme of Action which focuses on removing barriers to accessing information, education and services.
She said the demand for educational services had increased due to a predominantly youthful population.
“Zambia, therefore, has prioritised strategic investments in the reproductive health and education sectors to meet national education and development targets. To address the inadequate skills, the government is implementing various youth skills development programmes and vigorously pursuing a digital skills development strategy to support the country’s transformation to a digital economy,” Ms Mulube said.
Meanwhile, Ms Mulube said the Zambian Government had continued implementing strategies aimed at keeping children, especially girls in school up to completion.
“These include free education policy, re-entry policy, menstrual hygiene, safe spaces, child safeguarding and economic empowerment sustainability,” she said.
Ms Mulube said the Zambian Government was reinforcing its efforts of preventing child marriage and teenage pregnancy through the implementation of culturally sensitive and age-appropriate Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE), life skills and health education.
The session opened on April 10 and will close on April 14, 2023.
