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The WHO Country Office continued to provide technical and financial assistance to support the National Health Strategic Plan and actions aimed at accelerating the achievement of the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) targets. WHO globally implements a two year budget cycle. In the 2014-15 biennium, a total of US$12,298,000 budget was approved and US$9,807,187 was actually received by the country office with a 97% implementation rate. Funding for maternal, newborn and child health increased with contributions from the CIDA H4 + Initiative and Reproductive, Maternal, Neonatal, and Child health UN trust funds.

These funds contributed to improvements in the implementation of programmes focusing on national priorities. The country continued to face a high burden of communicable diseases and an increasing burden of Non-Communicable Diseases. The 2013-2014 Zambia Demographic and Health Survey (ZDHS) showed significant gains in health. For example, the neonatal mortality rate declined from 37 in 2007 to 24 in 2013. Despite the country not achieving most of the health-related MDG targets, except the target for child health, significant improvements were made in Malaria, TB, HIV/AIDS and Maternal health. The UN Child Mortality estimate for 2015 put Under-five mortality at 64/1000 live births – the MDG 4 target.