Zambia Council For Social Development - ZCSD

26/07/2026

The ZCSD team led Executive Director, Ms. Leah Mitaba, proudly joined the PRO DEMO, EU supported progressive tournament yesterday at the WoodlandsStadium. As our colleagues from NGOCC aptly observed, "there is no affirmative action on the football pitch - the better team on the day prevails."

Ironically, this reflects what often happens in our electoral processes when political parties, electoral management bodies and government fail to deliberately adopt inclusive measures that level the playing field for women, young people and persons with disabilities. At remain with the persistently low numbers of the marginalised in elective office.

All in all, it was a beautiful and spirited match. When the final whistle blew, we warmly shook hands with the Copper Queens, acknowledging that they had outplayed the Women for Democracy team.

May that spirit of sportsmanship inspire our nation. Beyond the 13 August 2026 General Elections, we hope to see political parties extend the same handshake, setting aside differences, embracing peace and unity, and recommitting themselves to building a stronger, more inclusive and prosperous Zambia for all.

14/07/2026

Our Executive Director recently participated in a High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) side event in New York, where she joined global leaders in reflecting on the transformative potential of South-South and Triangular Cooperation in accelerating progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The discussions underscored the importance of moving beyond traditional development partnerships to embrace collaboration rooted in mutual learning, shared experiences, innovation and locally led solutions. Participants highlighted the critical role of civil society as a strategic partner in development cooperation, bringing community perspectives, fostering accountability and helping to ensure that development efforts respond to people's lived realities. Ms. Mitaba emphasised on the importance of predictable and structured engagement giving an example of the recently formalized Open Governement Partnership National Steering Committee for Zambia and OGP Youth Network as a step towards strengthening co-creation spaces.

The side event reaffirmed that stronger partnerships between governments, civil society, development partners and communities are essential to advancing the 2030 Agenda and ensuring that no one is left behind.


Forus international
Open Government Partnership

14/07/2026

ZCSD joins ZGF in congratulating the ZGF CEO, Ms. Mwale, for this well deserved appointment.

Congratulations 🎊 👏 .

We are proud to share that our CEO Engwase Mwale has been invited to serve as a Jury Member for the African CSO Awards 2026, an initiative led by EPIC-Africa that celebrates excellence, innovation and impact within Africa's civil society sector.

As a jury member, she will join a distinguished panel of leaders and experts responsible for evaluating nominations and selecting winners across various award categories.

We congratulate our CEO on this well-deserved appointment and look forward to celebrating the work of outstanding civil society organisations driving positive change across Africa.

Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Comic Relief Tilitonse Foundation Voices for Just Climate Action - VCA Zambia Africa Philanthropy Network

14/07/2026

As we progressed into the second session of the AML/CFT Conference, participants engaged in another insightful masterclass led by Victoria Ibezim-Ohaeri of Spaces for Change.

Victoria took us through the evolution of FATF Recommendation 8, tracing its development from its original formulation in 2001 through the significant revisions made in 2016 and the continued refinements in its interpretation and implementation to date.

She emphasised the importance of countries conducting risk assessments to identify the specific risks facing the non-profit sector. Such assessments, she noted, are fundamental to ensuring that measures adopted under Recommendation 8 are evidence-based, proportionate, and risk-driven.

A key takeaway from her presentation was the need to shift the narrative around civil society organisations and other non-profit organisations (NPOs). Rather than viewing NPOs as terrorists or inherently suspicious entities, Recommendation 8 recognises that some organisations may be **vulnerable to terrorist financing abuse**. The objective, therefore, is to identify those at risk and implement targeted measures that protect legitimate charitable and advocacy activities while mitigating potential abuse.

Drawing on experiences from Ghana, Togo, and The Gambia, Victoria illustrated how these countries identified particular categories of non-profit organisations as potentially higher risk and adopted measures aimed at safeguarding legitimate humanitarian, charitable, and advocacy work while strengthening protections against terrorist financing abuse.

The session reinforced the importance of implementing Recommendation 8 through a balanced, proportionate, and evidence-based approach that protects both national security and civic space.

14/07/2026

ZCSD has joined stakeholders from across Africa and beyond, including civil society organisations, government regulators, development partners, and practitioners working on civic space and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT), in Abuja, Nigeria, for the Third African High-Level AML/CFT Conference 2026.

The conference opened with a session on "How African NGOs are Raising the Building Blocks of FATF Recommendation 8: Perspectives from Other Jurisdictions."

The opening presentation was delivered by Temitope Erinomo, Technical Adviser to the Director of the Special Control Unit against Money Laundering (SCUML), Nigeria.

Mr. Erinomo provided an insightful overview of the terrorism landscape across Africa and examined the far-reaching socio-economic impacts of terrorism. He highlighted how terrorism has contributed to increased securitisation, rising numbers of refugees and internally displaced persons, and the disruption of livelihoods, particularly for communities that depend on agriculture. In many affected areas, insecurity has made it difficult for people to cultivate their land and sustain their families.

He further noted that combating terrorism places a significant financial burden on governments, often requiring substantial public resources to be redirected from social sector investments to defence and security. This diversion of resources can undermine progress in areas such as health, education, and social protection.

He concluded by emphasising that the consequences of terrorism extend far beyond the tragic loss of life. Terrorism also erodes socio-economic development, weakens communities, and diverts scarce resources away from national development priorities.

22/06/2026

HERE'S A CONSULTANCY OPPORTUNITY.

15/06/2026

Working from home, our Executive Director, Ms. Leah Mitaba, just had the privilege of joining ZNBC Kitwe today to discuss women’s participation in politics and governance and the importance of inclusive leadership in strengthening Zambia’s young democracy.

A key highlight of the conversation was the progressive provisions in Zambia’s Constitution, including Articles 6 and 8 on national values and principles that promote equity and inclusion, as well as Article 259, which advances gender parity in appointments and representation. We also reflected on the opportunities presented by Bill 7 to increase the participation of women, young people and persons with disabilities in decision-making.

A question arose on whether women are available for political leadership and my response was a categorical yes. The 2026 election period demonstrated this clearly, with many women coming forward, positioning themselves for adoption. However, while some succeeded, many were left out due to persistent unfair practices that continue to favor men in political participation and nominations.

My direct appeal is therefore to political parties, who sit at the centre of the nomination process, to ensure that women are fairly considered and fielded in political positions. An inclusive democracy is not just fairer, it is stronger, more representative and better able to serve all citizens.

12/06/2026

🌍 Strengthening our digital presence to serve better

At ZCSD, our commitment to serving our members and communities more effectively continues to guide every step we take.

We recently held an important exchange with our global partner network, Forus international, focused on strengthening our online presence and improving how we connect, communicate and collaborate with stakeholders.

A key milestone in this journey is the successful setup of our for Nonprofits account, which is opening new opportunities to enhance our digital systems, improve coordination with member organisations and increase the visibility of our collective work.

We are currently finalising content for our website in collaboration with member organisations. This is an important step in ensuring that the platform accurately reflects the voices, priorities and impact of the entire ZCSD network across Zambia.

📢 to our members
We kindly encourage all member organisations who have not yet done so to submit their organisational profiles using the template shared. Your timely contribution is critical to ensuring a complete and representative platform.

✨ this matters for you:
Your profile will not only feature your organisation on a shared national platform, but will also:

your visibility to donors, partners and stakeholders at global lever;
your credibility within the wider civil society ecosystem
up opportunities for collaboration and resource mobilisation
your work is properly documented and amplified within the network

This process is not just about building a website, it is about building a stronger, more visible and more connected civil society voice in Zambia.

We are grateful for the continued guidance and technical support from our partners and we look forward to co-creating a dynamic digital space that truly serves our collective mission.

Together, we are strengthening systems that strengthen people.

04/06/2026

⏳We Go Live in less than an Hour to discuss NGO enabling environment and FATF Recommendation 8 which is both on protecting legitimate work of the not for profit sector by ensuring legislation is proportionate to the risk.

In line with R8 Zambia has since undertaken it's risk assessment and it is our hope as NPOs that the sector will be protected from terrorist financing and abuse rather than over burdened with over regulation.

Join us.

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Still time to register: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_mvhImKo2Sl2gEcoNecXt9g #/registration
Hear from leaders and representatives as we unpack what has actually changed for in Africa three years on from the revision of R.8.
🕚 11:00 a.m. EAT

18/05/2026

ZCSD WELCOMES THE REPORTED WITHDRAWALS BY SOME INCUMBENT MPS, MOSTLY MALE THUS FAR, AHEAD OF THE AUGUST 13 ELECTIONS

The Zambia Council for Social Development is of the view that the withdrawal of a significant number of incumbent male MPs from intra-party adoption processes presents an important opportunity to help close the gender gap in political representation.

We therefore encourage the ruling party, the United Party for National Development, to deliberately consider the many credible, capable and committed women who have presented themselves for adoption on the UPND ticket.

This moment offers a chance not only to renew leadership, but also to strengthen inclusive governance and demonstrate meaningful commitment to women’s political participation and representation in Zambia.

Women across the country continue to show competence, resilience and a strong understanding of community needs. Creating more space for their leadership would be a progressive step for both the party and the nation.