ZAMBIA Situation Report Last updated: 9 Dec 2020 HIGHLIGHTS (9 Dec 2020) The Ministry of Health has confirmed 17,916 COVID- 19 cases and 364 deaths as of 7 December. The number of districts reporting COVID-19 infections had increased from 68 in September to 96, as of 30 November. Education partners report that 16 per cent of nearly 39,000 learners in Eastern and Southern provinces have dropped a reading level during COVID-19 school closures.. The food security situation remains of major concern, Community sensitization on COVID-19 in Chawama Market amid a infestation of the African Migratory Locusts in in Lusaka. Photo: ©UNICEF/Mulikita 14 districts across Central, Southern and Western provinces. Nearly 2 million people are facing severe food insecurity between October 2020 and March 2021, despite increased crop production in most areas. KEY FIGURES FUNDING CONTACTS Laura Hastings 10.1M 6.2M $132.9M $66.2M Humanitarian Affairs Officer, Zambia people in need people targeted requested (May-Oct received [email protected] 2020) Guiomar Pau Sole 27 Head of Communications & Information partners operational 51.7% Management, Regional Office for funded Southern & Eastern Africa [email protected] INTERACTIVE (29 Oct 2020) Emergency Appeal Financial Tracking https://reports.unocha.org/en/country/zambia/ Page 1 of 15 Downloaded: 9 Dec 2020 ZAMBIA Situation Report Last updated: 9 Dec 2020 View this interactive graphic: https://bit.ly/ZambiaAppealFunding BACKGROUND (9 Dec 2020) Situation Overview Since the first case of COVID-19 on 18 March 2020, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has confirmed over 17,916 cases with 364 deaths (case fatality rate of 2 per cent) as of 7 December 2020. The number of districts reporting COVID-19 infections has increased from 68 in September to 96, out of 116 countrywide, by end of November. The capital Lusaka, Copperbelt and Ndola districts continue to report the highest transmission. The increase is attributed to increased testing capacity, with an average of 4,000 daily tests. Test positivity remains at less than 1 per cent, according to MOH. However, testing capacity is still centralized, with most provinces not having supplies in stock to sustain testing on the available platforms. Health partners are calling for increased surveillance and vigilance, to mitigate against a potential second wave. Pandemic fatigue and COVID-19 denial is reportedly contributing to the low compliance by the public on preventative and social distancing measures. The Ministry of General Education has engaged in regular monitoring to ensure compliance to health prevention measures in learning institutions. Since the opening of schools in September, the authorities have reported a reduction in new infections among the learners and teachers. According to a study conducted by VVOB-Education for Development NGO in September, to assess learning outcomes of school children during the COVID-19 pandemic, at least 67 per cent of learners in grade 3 to 5 are attending class. Out of these, at least 16 per cent of the students have dropped a reading level (E&S: 38.346 learners), while 10 per cent lost skills in addition, 7 per cent in subtraction, 12 per cent in multiplication and 6 per cent in division. According to the acute food insecurity analysis in Zambia released in December, it is estimated that around 1.42 million people (22 per cent of the analysed population) were facing high levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or above) between July and September 2020, despite increased crop production in most areas. This includes 1.24 million people in Crisis (IPC Phase 3) and nearly 190,000 people in Emergency (IPC Phase 4). Although the price of maize has been on a decline since the start of the 2020/2021 consumption year, it still remains above the Stressed (IPC Phase 2). Despite the good harvest of 2020, the food security situation could deteriorate when more households will rely on the market for food, in the midst of the kwacha depreciation and high job losses in the formal and informal sectors due to COVID-19. It is projected that nearly 2 million people will be severely food insecure from October 2020 to March 2021. https://reports.unocha.org/en/country/zambia/ Page 2 of 15 Downloaded: 9 Dec 2020 ZAMBIA Situation Report Last updated: 9 Dec 2020 The 2020/2021 rainfall season, which coincides with the projected period, has been forecast to be above normal in most of Southern Africa. Flooding, however, is also expected to increase, thereby affecting most of the household that live in flood- prone areas in the north and northeastern parts of the country. This comes at a time when the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) has reported an infestation of the African Migratory Locusts in 14 districts across Central, Southern and Western province, threatening food insecurity in the coming months. The Ministry of Agriculture and partners, FAO and International Red Cross are responding to the situation. More than 22,000 hectares have been surveyed in the Kasava, Simahala and Subilo plains along the Zambezi River. In addition, MOA and partners procured PPEs, chemicals and motorized sprayers and distribution to affected districts is under way. The Meteorological Department of Zambia has reported normal to heavy rains from November to March 2021, which create conducive breeding grounds for the locusts. Zambia’s planting season is underway and with concerns that farmers are unwilling plant for fear of the impact of the locusts on households food security. CLUSTER STATUS (9 Dec 2020) Education 35,301 555K students fed in schools in 2 districts pupils targeted Needs The nationwide school closure disrupted learning for more than 4.4 million children and adolescents and interfered with the provision of critical services to millions of children and youth, including school feeding programs for disadvantaged children. The need for remedial learning and catch-up classes tailored to the level of children’s ability/understanding after reopening of school remains critical. Education partners are considering a combination of distance and classroom teaching to ensure continued education for all children. Prolonged school closure is likely to expose children especially girls at increased risk of teenage pregnancy, sexual abuse, child marriage and other harmful practices. Major reasons for not returning to school after reopening include but not limit teenage pregnancies and early marriages forced by parents, lack of interest and motivation by learners after six-month schools’ closure, children help parents fend for food by doing piece work, relocation of parents to fishing camps or other areas not accessible to nearby schools, sickness and disability. Most of the schools in the rural areas are under-resourced and ill-equipped to provide support to the students learning at home and parents are unable to support children’s learning. This has widened the equity gap between those who can afford the virtual learning and those who cannot , potentially leading to life-long negative impact. Reopening of schools in September 2020 required additional support and ongoing monitoring to ensure all preventive measures are followed by the schools and learners. Adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures and MoGE guidelines, including social distancing, handwashing and wearing the masks is a big problem for many schools, especially in rural remote areas due to lack of safe water and handwashing facilities, inadequate classroom facilities and lack of additional desks, unbelief by population that COVID-19 is real. https://reports.unocha.org/en/country/zambia/ Page 3 of 15 Downloaded: 9 Dec 2020 ZAMBIA Situation Report Last updated: 9 Dec 2020 The Early Child Education (ECE) level has reported challenges in ensuring physical distancing among the young learners whose curricular is play-based. In many communities, children in the ECE programme are yet to return to school, as parents fear that the teachers will not be able to manage the preschoolers. Response The Ministry of General Education (MoGE) COVID-19 Response and Recovery Plan highlights the continuity of learning as its core priority and has presented a series of education delivery options and strategies. Education partners are monitoring schools to ensure adherence to COVID-19 protection and prevention measures and have. supported MOGE with circulation of the Guidelines to Support Re-Opening of Schools. Education Sector partners conducted comprehensive ‘Back-to-School’ awareness raising and sensitization campaign with a particular emphasis for girls’ return to schools. Sector partners supported airing of COVID-19 prevention messages through community radio stations in Southern and Western provinces alongside continued literacy learning through 515 literacy lessons aired on community radio stations and reading camps. A total of 8,500 stories have been produced by teachers and 178 stories by parents to support continued literacy for grade 1 to 4 learners by World Vision. Support to continued literacy learning through 515 literacy lessons aired on community radio stations and Reading Camps. More than 35,081 learners (17,052 boys and 18,029 girls) in Gwembe and Shangombo received through school feeding program. Started implementation of education response program by UNICEF together with MoGE and partners in 20 districts of five provinces funded by Global Partnership for Education through establishment of 180 boreholes, procurement of 11,000 solar radios with SD cards, procurement and provision of 15,000 desks, teaching and learning materials (student’s packs) to benefit 134,000 learners, and PPE supplies to schools, procurement of video conferencing equipment for 10 provincial centers, awareness raising and back to school campaigns. Education partners trained over 200 community facilitators on Emergent Literacy and Math at Home (ELM at Home) and conducted ELM lessons for ECE and primary grade learners. British Council Zambia has launched the digital library of educational resources through which learners can access learning materials by registering online.