Poverty and malnutrition dictate daily life
When more than 60% of the population lives below the poverty line, when nearly 1.2 million people suffer from hunger, one cannot say that people are doing well. Yet Zambia's economy is doing well thanks to the copper mines, but its abysmal debt is eating away at its economy and the benefits of the mines are very unevenly distributed among the population, who never see any of the benefits, either through the construction of roads, health clinics, or through electrification or the construction of new water networks in the villages. Only 43% of Zambians have an electrified home and half have no access to clean water. The lack of sanitation and sewage systems also contributes to the spread of disease. Daily life is complicated, yet crime is not very high considering the price pressure and inflation on food and fuel as everywhere in the world since the beginning of the war in Ukraine.
A duality between tradition and modernity
Each individual has a specific role and place within the community, which is determined by his age, his wisdom, his family affiliation, his social origin, and his urban or rural environment. The strong solidarity that characterizes practically all African society depends on a strong structure that can be synthesized in the form of the ethnic group, whose individuals share a common cultural heritage and language; the lineage formed by a large family whose kinship goes back several generations; and the clan, composed of a group of individuals who refer to a political or religious personality. It is extremely difficult to transgress these laws, which are practically common to all ethnic groups, but the economic changes resulting from the post-colonial period and the urbanization of the country favor the break-up of the extended family and clan unit. Today, migration to the cities has accelerated in the last 20 years, even though 55% of the population remains rural. This atomization is materialized in the form of a progressive decline of traditional solidarities and by individualization leading sometimes to marginality and extreme poverty whose most serious forms inevitably lead to delinquency, prostitution, abandonment of children and the elderly. Thus, the Zambian, like most Africans, finds himself confronted with a cultural dualism, divided as he is between the desire to preserve his traditional identity and the desire to integrate into a changing world strongly influenced by Western individualistic values.
Customary and early marriages
In traditional society, the formation of couples and marriage are still linked to certain traditions. For example, sibling marriages, tolerance of polygamy despite the dominant Christian religion, the allocation of a dowry (lobola), forced marriages and marriages arranged by families... If the equal age for marriage is 21 years, customary law prevails since it is estimated that 8% of Zambian women are married at 15 years and 40% at 18 years. As a result, 30% of Zambian women are pregnant before age 18. However, especially in urban areas, these practices are tending to fade away in favor of Western and especially Christian mores: free choice of partner, permission to divorce as well. On the other hand, infidelity is much more tolerated than in the West. Especially for men... many have a second wife, a mistress, a second wife... As far as gender equality is concerned, the law and customary practice give women a subordinate status as far as inheritance and property are concerned, despite the constitutional and legal protection measures. There is a long way to go..
Many children and free education
The ratio of 4.5 children per woman is high in Zambia. This is coupled with early marriage and pregnancy. The average age is only 17.6 years, which means that half of the population are children. Education is therefore of paramount importance today. The Zambian system has 7 years of elementary school, 5 years of secondary school, and 4 years of university. The new president, Hakainde Hichilema, who will be elected in 2021, has made public schooling free for all up to the end of high school (it had been free since 2002 for elementary school), a real improvement that should encourage many poor families to send their children to school more. Uniforms and supplies are still paid for by the families, but in many villages, the school provides a meal at the end of the day for the children, which encourages the families to send them to school. The results should be felt positively in the next few years in terms of schooling, especially since the president has provided funds for the recruitment of teachers. Private and fee-paying schools remain the norm for those who can afford them and wish to provide a better education for their children, especially the middle and upper classes in Zambian cities.
Poor health due to poverty, malaria and AIDS
Life expectancy is only 64 years. Extreme poverty (60% of the population lives on less than 2 dollars a day) and malnutrition (30% of children) are indirectly the main causes of a high mortality rate. This is particularly true for newborns (11% of deaths), not to mention the lack of hospital care for all categories of patients, a high incidence of malaria and AIDS. The latter, which has long been the scarecrow of death statistics in southern Africa, is an epidemic that has stabilized. But like other countries in the region, AIDS is seriously affecting Zambia, with an adult prevalence rate of around 11.1 per cent, mainly among women and the country's working population. The government is very concerned about the scourge and is increasing prevention campaigns, access to condoms and triple therapy treatments. Indeed, 80% of adults and children with AIDS are on triple therapy, the highest rate in Africa. Thanks to these ambitious programs, the situation is gradually improving, but much remains to be done.
