Lusaka Conference on Poverty Reduction and Climate Resilience

13–15 May 2025 | InterContinental Hotel, Lusaka, Zambia

The Chronic Poverty Advisory Network (CPAN) at the Institute of Development Studies, UK, together with the Indaba Agricultural Policy Research Institute (IAPRI), the University of Zambia’s Institute of Economic and Social Research (INESOR), and the Southern African Institute for Policy and Research (SAIPAR), the Government of Zambia’s Ministry of Community Development and Social Services and the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office are  delighted to announce the Lusaka Conference on Poverty Reduction and Climate Resilience.

This international conference will bring together researchers, senior policymakers and technocrats, and practitioners to share insights and strategies for tackling poverty and building climate resilience across Zambia and the wider region, including Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. It also marks 25 years of CPAN’s dedicated work on poverty dynamics, offering an important opportunity to review global progress on poverty reduction efforts.

Over three days, participants will engage in keynote speeches, interactive panel sessions, and discussions on key themes, including:

• Growth, inequality and poverty reduction

• Food security, nutrition and social protection

• Global progress on poverty reduction, social development and climate resilience

• Environmentally sustainable policymaking at macro and micro levels

The conference will have 60+ research papers presented, 5 plenary sessions, opening and closing addresses by the Government of Zambia’s Vice President, its Minister of Community Development and Social Services, the UK High Commissioner and Deputy High Commission to Zambia.

The third day of the conference will be devoted to summarising the key policy implications from the conference, with two policy roundtables – one on Zambia, and one on the wider region and global poverty reduction and climate resilience. These roundtables will discuss the way forward and distil key messages from the conference to take forward into other events later this year – for example the G20 Summit in South Africa, and the World Social Summit in Qatar.

The conference will explore issues such as political economy, food security, environmental change, and gender equality within the broader themes of poverty reduction and climate resilience.

We are looking forward to welcoming a wide range of voices to this crucial conversation. For those unable to attend in person, we are pleased to offer a livestream option.

Download our agenda to attend some of the sessions online!

Join us as we shape a more resilient, inclusive future for communities affected by poverty and climate change.