Investing in the dignity of the people in Zambia: A demand for sustainable economic growth with equity.

Zambia is now officially a middle-income country and even though a minority is truly prospering and GDP has increased, anyone living in Zambia knows that the majority of the people still lives in poverty. To conclude that economic growth is "THE" pre-condition to development and poverty eradication is very misleading. Whilst it may be true that economic growth can make it easier to eradicate poverty, it does not guarantee that growth will lead to less poverty. Inequality and impoverishment is a consequence of the disparities between the educated and uneducated, the skilled and the unskilled, the healthy and unhealthy, the nourished and undernourished and many more. For Zambia to become a true middle-income country, it needs to look beyond the pursuit of ‘economic growth’, and to include solid determination with regard to human development, equity and poverty reduction. The attached article is a reaction by Civil Society for Poverty Reduction (CSPR) to the Six national Development Plan (SNDP).