LocationsSystems that are positioning Zambia as a key contributor to global peace and security
Digital Transformation for Equality: How GMIS and E-Learning Platform Are Redefining Zambia’s Police Service and Peacekeeping
November 7, 2025
Zambia Police Service officers participating in initiatives that strengthen data-driven approaches to gender equality through the Gender Management Information System.
Photo by: Jabbes Banda/UNDP Zambia
In an era where data and digital access define institutional effectiveness, the Zambia Police Service (ZPS) has taken a bold step forward. With support from Global Affairs Canada and UNDP Zambia, the launch of the Gender Management Information System (GMIS) and the ZPS E-Learning Platform marks a turning point in how the Service prepares, deploys, and empowers its officers, especially women, for peacekeeping and domestic policing.
The GMIS, launched on 27 June 2025, is more than a database, it is a mission-readiness engine and a symbol of fairness. What once took 21 days of manual paperwork for deployment approvals now takes just 90 seconds. The system provides real-time dashboards with data disaggregated by gender, rank, and eligibility, ensuring transparency and accountability in promotions and peacekeeping deployments. For the first time, women officers, who were often overlooked due to opaque processes, now have their qualifications digitally recorded and validated, ending doubts and gatekeeping ending uncertainty and eliminating barriers that once held them back.
Complementing this transformation is the E-Learning Platform, a game changer in professional development. Developed in collaboration with Smart Zambia and the ZPS ICT and Research Team, the platform digitizes key training modules, including the Gender Equality Workplace Policy, the Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) Investigative Manual, and Leadership Development Tools. For officers in remote districts, where physical manuals once took months to arrive, the platform delivers standardized, up-to-date resources instantly. Offline functionality ensures that even those with limited connectivity can learn at their own pace. Already, 207 officers across six underserved districts have accessed the platform, supported by 17 focal point trainers who are cascading the skills to colleagues nationwide.
Together, these platforms are more than technical upgrades, they are transforming lives and institutions. A survivor of sexual and gender-based violence in a rural area can now expect to meet officers whose training is continuously updated through digital modules. A female officer once sidelined for peacekeeping deployment now finds her readiness visible in seconds, her progress tracked in real time. Communities, in turn, gain trust in a police service that demonstrates professionalism, transparency and inclusivity.
The impact is systemic. By linking promotions to E-Learning hours and conducting monthly GMIS gender audits, ZPS is embedding accountability into its culture. Plans to integrate GMIS with national criminal databases and extend satellite internet to 36 remote stations show a long-term commitment to institutional modernization. These reforms ensure that gender equality is not just a policy aspiration, but a daily practice woven into the operations of the Zambia Police Service.
As Zambia continues to position itself as a key contributor to global peace and security, GMIS and the E-Learning Platform ensure that its officers, especially women, are not only ready but empowered. They represent a police service fit for the future: transparent, gender-responsive, and mission-ready.
In the words of one officer, Wiiliam Chama, during the launch, “This system gives us confidence that our efforts are recognized, our skills are visible, and our chances are fair.” That confidence is the essence of transformation. It is the promise of a Zambia Police Service that protects with dignity, leads with equity, and sets an example for peacekeeping worldwide.