Eighth National Development Plan (8NDP) 2022-2026

The Eighth National Development Plan (8NDP) sets out Zambia’s strategic direction in terms of the development priorities and implementation strategies for the period 2022 to 2026. This Plan is a successor to the Seventh National Development Plan (7NDP) that was implemented over the period 2017 to 2021. This is the fourth in the series of national development plans (NDPs) towards the national Vision 2030 in which Zambians aspire to live in a prosperous middle-income country. As the penultimate plan, the 8NDP will play a pivotal role as a building block towards the attainment of the national vision. The Plan is a critical vehicle to support the attainment of Zambia’s international and regional commitments under various frameworks, including the last decade of action towards the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and delivery on the Africa We Want, espoused in the African Union Agenda 2063.

Others are the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) protocols. These frameworks have helped in the formulation of the 8NDP. The 8NDP takes cognizance of the country’s developmental context including the challenges and opportunities towards actualizing the Vision 2030. Notably, the Plan has been formulated against the backdrop of a challenging economic situation exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The current state of development indicates persisting socio-economic challenges which include low diversification of the economy, high youth unemployment, high incidences of poverty and inequality, slow pace of decentralization, as well as low education outcomes, coupled with inadequate access to other social services. To overcome these challenges and attain the Vision 2030, the 8NDP introduces strategic interventions anchored on:

• Economic Transformation and Job Creation;
• Human and Social Development;
• Environmental Sustainability; and
• Good Governance Environment.

The strategic development areas of the 8NDP were arrived at through a review of past performance and consultations with stakeholders in regard to the persistent development issues across different sectors of the economy, including their causes and key actions required to address them. By implementing the identified actions under the four strategic development areas, it is expected that the developmental bottlenecks will be addressed to enable the country attain its medium and long-term objectives.