US Mission in Zambia

The US Agency for International Development Zambia, a sub-agency of the cabinet-level U.S. Department of State, administers U.S. bilateral foreign assistance, contracting, and grant programs supporting development, health, governance, and humanitarian objectives in Zambia. USAID Zambia transacts on both the contract and grant sides, deploying a substantial portfolio of funding across development partners and implementing organizations.

USAID Zambia has issued 153 federal contract awards since 2009, combining $1.59 billion in potential value with $1.35 billion in obligated funds (85% of potential). Recent contract volume has held steady at 12 to 20 awards per year over the last five years, with 20 awards in 2024. The competitive structure among prime contractors is highly fragmented by count, with undisclosed domestic and foreign awardees accounting for 11 and 8 awards respectively over the last five years; however, concentration by potential value is extreme, with five primes holding only 12 percent of combined potential value. Pact, Inc. leads by dollar value at $119.9 million across a single award, followed by Research Triangle Institute International at $19.6 million and Access To Health Zambia at $17.9 million. The remaining 66 distinct primes share the balance across a long tail of smaller awards. Set-asides are minimal: 97 percent of awards carry no set-aside designation, with 3 percent small-business awards and 1 percent 8(a) sole-source awards.

USAID Zambia has awarded 57 federal grants totaling $1.21 billion in federal dollars obligated (with $1.23 billion in combined federal and non-federal share) across 42 distinct recipients since 2005. Grant volume declined from 8 awards in 2020 to a low of 2 awards in 2023 before recovering to 7 awards in 2024. The most recent recorded grant award closed on June 24, 2024. Grant recipients are highly fragmented, with the top five recipients by count accounting for only 42 percent of recent awards, and the top five by federal dollars accounting for just 8 percent of total federal dollars. Coalition Health Zambia LIMITED leads by federal dollars at $51.8 million, with Centre For Infectious Disease Research In Zambia at $18.3 million and Consortium For Elections & Political Process Strengthening at $12.4 million. Grants are structured predominantly as Cooperative Agreements (74 percent of awards) with a smaller share of Project Grants (26 percent).