The Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ) has an ambitious long-term vision for the nation and its people, operationalized through the national development plans. A rapid increase in public spending financed through borrowing, due to lack of a concomitant increase in public revenue, meant a ballooning of nondiscretionary spending in lieu of discretionary spending. Overall poverty is estimated to have consistently increased since 2015 and, in fact, has rapidly increased in 2020 driven by the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Natural disasters and market fluctuations have been a common feature of the Zambian context even before COVID-19, with natural disasters becoming more prominent in rural areas and disproportionately affecting poorer households. Human capital has shown significant improvements in terms of health outcomes and education access, but without similar gains in quality of education, Zambia lags behind regional peers, and the poor are worst off. COVID-19’s negative effects will not only affect those that are directly impacted, but will be felt across the population and, in many cases, across generations, eroding decades of progress in human capital. Jobs and economic inclusion (JEI) programs are being implemented across seven ministries, with little coordination and minimal coverage.