The country's lockdown came just as Zambia's economy was recovering after suffering from floods that were preceded by one of the worst droughts the country had experienced in decades.
According to a March 23 local media report, shortly after the country proceeded to lockdown, more than 700,000 people in different parts of Zambia had been affected by floods.
The country's Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) reported that families in the most affected provinces -- Luapula, North-Western, Copperbelt, Northern, Muchinga, Eastern, Western and Lusaka -- were in urgent need of relief food during lockdown.
As for the protracted 2018-2019 drought season, Lungu said that more than 2.3 million people had been left on the verge of starvation and their situation had been aggravated by the lockdown.
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Caritas Zambia, in February, sent out an appeal for $882,000 to support communities that had been affected by the drought, especially in the western side of the country where years without rainfall had left fields parched and rivers dried up.
To support the vulnerable communities, even before the donation from Pope Francis was received, the leadership of the Church in Zambia was providing pastoral outreach to the people affected by COVID-19, Lungu noted.
"We accompany those who have tested positive with the virus through prayers, counseling and even administering the sacraments of baptism and anointing of the sick. We always assure our people that they are not on their own," he said.
The Church leadership, through Caritas Zambia and other institutions within the local Church, had also embarked on a humanitarian response, raising funds to buy food and protective equipment for vulnerable individuals in the country, regardless of their religious backgrounds.
A version of this story was first reported by CNA's partner agency, ACI Africa. It has been adapted by CNA.