Coordination Success in Chongwe: A Story from the Field

The project focused on working with existing Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ) structures at the district, provincial, and national levels to enhance their ability to identify vulnerable children, adolescents, and their households and ensure they receive comprehensive coordinated care services. In Chongwe district, Lusaka province, the GRZ structures, with the assistance of Zambia Rising, stepped up to address the issue of severe malnutrition. The District Child Protection Committee (DCPC), a GRZ structure responsible for coordinating services for and responding to issues affecting vulnerable children at the district level, was strengthened through comprehensive activities guided by a team of technical experts. These activities included development of district joint multi-sectoral work plans with M&E plans and data dashboards for decision making, partner mapping, monitoring and evaluation support, training in Child Safeguarding, and technical learning exchanges. As a result of these efforts, the DCPCs demonstrated a marked improvement in their performance. In Chongwe, the DCPC Chairperson, Reverend Banda, noted that before Zambia Rising, the committee never really met, but now members come together to see how they can best respond to the needs of orphans and vulnerable children in the district. One example of the DCPC's success includes the case of several impoverished families who received meal packs consisting of millet, ground nuts, rice, soy nuts, cooking oil, clothing, toys, and baby formula due to the efforts of the DCPC and the Zambia Rising project. The collaboration between the DCPC, the Pastor's Fellowship, and the Christian Alliance for Children in Zambia (CACZ) resulted in 129 children receiving meal packs. The family pictured below, identified by the Pastor's Fellowship after the mother became extremely ill during her pregnancy, was presented as a likely candidate for nutritional support. Thanks to the nutritional support donated by the CACZ and distributed by the Pastor's Fellowship, the 12-month-old child now weighs a healthy 10.5 kilograms. The child's mother explained that the supplements have been helpful to their son, especially the groundnuts and nutrient packs which they use for his porridge. The DCPC's work demonstrates that the Zambian Government is capable of identifying and mobilizing resources for children and families in need. The project's support to the DCPC's coordination efforts enabled limited resources to be directed to families in serious need who met rigorous qualification requirements. The success of the DCPC in Chongwe serves as an example of the impact that can be achieved through effective coordination and collaboration among government structures, NGOs, and community-based organizations.