THE World Bank Group (WBG) says Zambia’s population is frequently exposed to several external and internal vulnerabilities that hinder poverty reduction. WBG observes that on the macroeconomic front, the country’s economic activity is closely tied to the minerals sector, and that the collapse in copper prices in the 2010s has been a major driver of the macro imbalances that eventually resulted in the 2020 external debt default. In its Zambia Poverty and Equity Assessment Report, WBG stated that up until the 2024 drought, each drought had affected, on average, close to 1.4 million individuals, adding that last year’s drought was projected to impact 5 million people. “The population is frequently exposed to several external and internal vulnerabilities that hinder poverty...