The National Assembly of Zambia has been ranked amongst the top 5 delegations with 50.1 to 60 per cent women parliamentarians who participated in the just ended 144th Assembly of the Inter – Parliamentary Union (IPU). This was according to a statement which was released by the IPU Secretariat at the close of the 144th IPU Assembly held in Nusa Dua, Bali in Indonesia from 20 to 24th March 2022.

The Zambian delegation scored 57% just behind Austria, Denmark, Ecuador and Kenya who each had 60%  women in their delegations. The Zambian Delegation was led by Speaker of the National Assembly, The Right Hon Madam Nelly Mutti, MP. Other female parliamentarians in the delegation were Ms Given Katuta, MP for Chiengi who until 22nd March 2022 served as President of the IPU Advisory Group on Health, Ms Jacqueline Sabao, MP for Chikankata, and Ms Jean C Ng’andwe, MP for Mambilima who participated in the meeting of the Young Parliamentarians. The other members in the delegation included Mr Harry Kamboni, MP for Kalomo, Mr Kaliye Mandandi, Sioma and Mr Mubita Anakoka, MP for Luena.

The IPU Secretariat also indicated that, while 17 delegations had 50% women in their delegations, only8 delegations had 40% to 49% women in their delegations and the rest had less than 40% women included in their delegations.

Meanwhile, on the sidelines of the Assembly, Speaker of the National Assembly The Right Hon Madam Nelly Mutti, MP,  held bilateral talks with a number of delegations; notable of which included , the Speaker of the South African Parliament, The Hon Nosiviwe Noluthando Mapisa-Nqakula, MP, the Secretary General of the Forum of Parliaments of Member States of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (FP-ICGLR) Ambassador Onyango Kakoba, and some officials from the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH), a Geneva based Non- Governmental Organisation amongst the many.

The 144th Assembly of the Inter – Parliamentary Unions and related meetings was held in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia from 20 to 24 March 2022. The Assembly was officially opened by President of Indonesia, H E Joko Widodo at Bali International Convention Centre on 20 March 2022. The Assembly brought together over 110 national parliaments to discuss  the theme: ‘Getting to zero: Mobilizing Parliaments to act on climate change’.