Zambia plans domestic digital ID development with help from international partners

Zambia is engaging with a continental leader in digital identity and international institutions as it works to issue digital identity to its people and improve the conditions for refugees and their host communities in the country.

The government is launching the new Zambia Refugee and Host Communities Project (ZRHCP) with $30 million in support from the World Bank and technical support from UNHCR. The funding is provided under the IDA20 Window for Host Communities and Refugees (WHR).

The World Bank committed $120 million to support Zambia’s implementation of digital public infrastructure (DPI) earlier this year.

Biometric national registration cards will be issued to refugees and former refugees under the initiative, which is managed by Zambia’s Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security (MoHAIS).

Home Affairs and Internal Security Minister Jack Mwiimbu said in the announcement by UNHCR that the biometric cards are intended “to improve access to socio-economic opportunities for both refugees and host communities.” The government also hopes to improve access to essential services.

Schools, healthcare facilities, water systems and roads will be upgraded as part of the project, in a bid to enable sustainable development.

The country participated in a workshop with the UNHCR on forcibly displaced people at ID4Africa’s 2024 AGM.

There are 112,000 refugees and forcibly displaced persons residing in Zambia. The project is planned for completing at the end of October, 2028.

MoU with Ethiopia

The leaders of SMART Zambia and Ethiopia’s national ID authority have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate on digital identity implementation, TechAfrica News reports.

SMART Zambia Institute National Coordinator Percy Chinyama noted the value of digital ID for public access to healthcare, education, banking, and social services, as well as benefits to government transparency and accountability.

The agreement, signed by Chinyama and Yodahe Zemichael, ED of Ethiopia’s NIDP, deepens bilateral relations between the countries, according to the report.

Chinyama said during the Africa Innovation Conference, held in April in Addis Ababa, that Zambia wants to follow Ethiopia’s model for national digital identity because it is centered on a domestically developed system, according to reporting by TechAfrica News at the time.

Zambia’s E-Government Division, meanwhile, is taking proposals at it prepares to tender a contract for a Mobile Virtual Network Operator for the SMART Zambia Institute (SZI) under a public-private partnership (PPP).

The goal is to upgrade the e-government platform to lower the cost of service delivery and enable the agency to tailor the services it is rolling out. Perhaps most importantly, the current platform is hindering government efforts to identify duplicate social program beneficiaries.

Article Topics

Africa  |  biometrics  |  digital ID  |  Ethiopia  |  funding  |  SMART Zambia  |  UNHCR  |  World Bank  |  Zambia