Skip to main content

Calcium Dashboard – Details by Country

Zambia


Country Typology: High disease risk, high intervention/policy environment

Health Data

Preterm Births:

  • Lancet Estimates: Preterm Birth Rate per 100 Live Births: 7.7 [4.5-12.5] 1
  • GBD Estimates: DALYS per 100,000 [CI]: 1205 [854, 1662] 2

Maternal Hypertensive Disorders - Preclampsia & Eclampsia Incidence: 3

  • % of Preeclampsia Cases: 1%
  • % of Eclampsia Cases: 0.47%
  • % of Combined Preeclampsia and Eclampsia: 1.50%

Maternal Hypertensive Disorders - DALYS & Deaths: 4

  • DALYs per 100,000: 148.11 [89.85, 220.75]
  • Deaths per 100,000: 2.13 [1.23, 3.23]

Bone Fractures Incidence Rate per 100,000 [CI]: 1046 [951.6, 1140.3] 5

Diet and Food Supply

Apparent Calcium Intake: 197.2 mg/day 6

Policies

Calcium Fortification: 7
• Voluntary fortification of Wheat flour (1277.5mg/kg)
• Voluntary fortification of Maize flour (1277.5mg/kg)

Antenatal Care Guidelines:

  • Supplementation Recommendation:
    No recommendation
  • Food-Based Recommendation:
    No recommendation

References:

1 Preterm Births - Lancet Estimates
Ohuma EO, Moller A-B, Bradley E, et al. National, regional, and global. estimates of preterm birth in 2020, with trends from 2010: a systematic analysis. Lancet 2023; 402: 1261–71.

2 Preterm Births - GBD Estimates
Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). GBD Compare Data Visualization. Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2021. Seattle, WA: IHME, University of Washington, 2023. Available from http://vizhub.healthdata.org/gbd-compare. (Accessed 7/23/2025). For terms and conditions of use, please visit http://www.healthdata.org/about/terms-and-conditions

3 Maternal Hypertensive Disorders - Preclampsia & Eclampsia Incidence
Miyoshi, Y., Matsubara, K., Takata, N., & Oka, Y. (2019). Significance of pre-hospital care to reduce the morbidity of eclampsia in rural Zambia. Pregnancy Hypertension, 17, 100-103.

4 Maternal Hypertensive Disorders - DALYS & Deaths
Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). GBD Compare Data Visualization. Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2021. Seattle, WA: IHME, University of Washington, 2023. Available from http://vizhub.healthdata.org/gbd-compare. (Accessed 9/16/2024).

5 Bone Fractures
Global Burden of Disease Collaborative Network. Global Burden of Disease Study 2021 (GBD 2021). Seattle, United States: Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), 2022. Available from https://vizhub.healthdata.org/gbd-results/. (Accessed 7/18/2025).

6 Apparent Calcium Intake
Updated for 2022 based on: Lividini, K., Masters, W.A. Tracing global flows of bioactive compounds from farm to fork in nutrient balance sheets can help guide intervention towards healthier food supplies. Nat Food 3, 703–715 (2022).

7 Calcium Fortification
Government of Zambia. Chapter 303 The Food and Drugs Act, Food and Drugs Regulations (2001). Zambia. From: Global Fortification Data Exchange. Accessed 11 October 2024. [http://www.fortificationdata.org.]
Government of Zambia. Chapter 303 The Food and Drugs Act, Food and Drugs Regulations (2001). Zambia. 14/September/2001. From: Global Fortification Data Exchange. Accessed 11 October 2024. [http://www.fortificationdata.org.]