On May 26, 2011, the Center for Reproductive Rights submitted a shadow letter to the 49^th session of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women on the status of reproductive and sexual health and rights in Zambia.

Women and girls in Zambia languish because of the high prevalence of maternal mortality and morbidity. The reasons are numerous: unsafe abortion, lack of post-abortion care, inadequate access to contraception, sexual and physical violence, including in schools, insufficient healthcare services for and treatment of women living with HIV, and the harmful consequences of early marriage. In addressing each of these concerns, we highlight the Zambian government’s deficiencies in implementing the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women.