Zambia and Sweden Reaffirm Partnership to Strengthen Education and Governance
Zambia and Sweden have reaffirmed their long-standing partnership, aimed at deepening cooperation in education, skills development, and governance. The renewed commitment was made during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the ongoing 43rd Session of the UNESCO General Conference in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
The Zambian delegation, led by Dr Kelvin Mambwe, Permanent Secretary for Educational Services at the Ministry of Education, and accompanied by Ms Judith Mulenga, Zambia’s Ambassador and Permanent Delegate to UNESCO; Dr Charles Ndakala, Director of the Curriculum Development Centre; and Dr Samson Kantini, Senior Programme Officer for Culture at the Zambia National Commission for UNESCO, met with Mr Oscar Wåglund Söderström, State Secretary to Sweden’s Minister for Education and Integration, and his team.
The meeting focused on enhancing collaboration in technical and vocational education, life skills and health education, freedom of expression, and gender equality—key areas of Zambia’s development partnership with Sweden.
Building on 60 years of bilateral cooperation, both parties reviewed progress under Zambia’s Life Skills and Health Education (LSHE) and Our Rights, Our Lives, Our Future PLUS (O3 PLUS) programmes. Dr Mambwe emphasised Zambia’s commitment to expanding O3 PLUS to all colleges and universities, equipping young people with knowledge and values for responsible citizenship and healthy living.
He highlighted that Zambia’s revised LSHE Framework (2025) now integrates life skills, human rights, gender, HIV and AIDS, and reproductive health across subjects such as science, civic education, and home economics. The framework reflects Zambia’s constitutional values of human dignity, equality, social justice, and non-discrimination.
Mr Söderström commended Zambia’s achievements in reducing early marriages and teenage pregnancies, noting that Sweden faces similar challenges in promoting comprehensive sexuality education. Zambia also expressed gratitude to UNESCO for financing the LSHE framework review and supporting the development of new teaching and learning materials.
Dr Mambwe further highlighted recent governance reforms, including Zambia’s Access to Information Act, which strengthens transparency and media freedom, and ongoing constitutional consultations to improve women’s representation and inclusive education for adolescent mothers. He appealed for support to raise awareness of the Re-Entry Policy for teen mothers.
On Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), Dr Mambwe reaffirmed President Hakainde Hichilema’s vision of skills development as a driver for economic growth and job creation, urging Sweden to continue its support beyond its assistance to the Northern Technical College.
Both delegations agreed to sustain collaboration in education and governance, with Sweden welcoming Zambia’s proposal to revive past cooperation in educational publishing, an area previously supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).
