LUSAKA, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Zambia is targeting to put about 5,061,280 of its vulnerable population this year on a welfare program, a government official said on Friday.
Brenda Tambatamba, the Minister of Community Development and Social Services, said the government plans to scale the Social Cash Program this year by increasing the number of households from 973,323 last year to 1,027,000 this year, translating into 5,061,280 individuals in all the country's 116 districts.
In a ministerial statement delivered in parliament, the minister said about 8.9 percent of the households were with people with disabilities.
"The social cash program is a key social protection intervention. The program targets vulnerable and incapacitated people in communities in order to alleviate suffering and deprivation," she said.
According to her, the government has dealt with the various challenges the program was facing which resulted in siphoning of funds and forced cooperating partners to withdraw funding in 2018.
She said the cooperating partners were not supporting the implementation of the program after the government took a number of steps to strengthen the delivery systems which has enhanced accountability and transparency.
It is expected that the systems put in place will enhance program credibility and sustainability, she added.
The program, established in 2003, has in the past suffered through siphoning of funds meant for the vulnerable, resulting in donors pulling out in 2018.
