Esther Lungu

Edgar Lungu became a junior minister in the Vice President's Office in 2011, Minister of Home Affairs on 9 July 2012 and Defence minister on 24 December 2013 in the Patriotic Front government. Lungu was adopted as the candidate for the Patriotic Front during the January 2015 presidential by-election, following Michael Sata's death. He narrowly defeated the opposition candidate and was sworn-in as the President of Zambia on 25 January 2015 and his wife Esther became the First Lady of Zambia.^{[8][self-published source]}

Being the First Lady, Esther was part of many state visits along with her husband, the President. During 2015, she attended a series of meetings in the United States of America and she was invited by the George W. Bush Institute to participate in first lady conference and discuss topics of women's empowerment, health and technology. She was invited by the health minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and by Princess Latifa Bint Abulazis Al Saud to discuss support for women and child welfare programmes in Zambia. As a part of her continual humanitarian work, she launched Esther Lungu Foundation in December 2015.^[9]

Lungu launched a trust fund which seeks to reduce vulnerability of the underprivileged persons using gender sensitive, participatory and environmentally sustainable approaches to improve their livelihoods. The Esther Lungu Foundation Trust (ELFT) aims to leverage its position to address issues relating to economic empowerment, maternity, children, neo-natal health, and water sanitation.^[10]

The ELFT, with the Muslim Social and Welfare Trust, installed hand pumps with boreholes in many places in Chongwe District. The district was facing acute water shortage as the reserves in Chongwe River reduced.^[11] It started identifying vulnerable families, where empowering women might eradicate poverty in the country. It began work with the ministries of Community Development and General Education to enrol schoolchildren.^[12]

Lungu suggested hand soap can reduce one out of every three cases of childhood diarrhea.^[13] She has advocated for bettering the lives of Zambia's older women, and donated 30,000K to six women's associations in Chilanga.^[14] She congratulated her husband for choosing a woman as his running mate, a first in her country.^[15] Some journalists see her social work as a campaign for her husband in upcoming presidential elections, which the Patriotic Front denies.^[6]

The Special Olympics conferred on Lungu the title of 50th Anniversary Ambassador for the African Region, in September 2017. It was the 50th anniversary of the Special Olympics Leadership Academy which was hosted by Zambia at the Olympic Youth Development Centre.^[16]