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IOM, the UN Migration Agency, used funding from the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to build waste management facilities, an otherwise neglected issue in refugee settlements and host communities.

Kasonga Health Centre II can get really busy. Daily, the health centre sees 100 patients from refugee and host communities. On average, each month it conducts four outreach sessions and supports 40 expectant mothers to deliver. During immunization campaigns, an average of 150 children are vaccinated on designated days. At the height of the cholera outbreak in Kyangwali Refugee Settlement in early 2018, the Kasonga Health Centre II was selected to hold an isolation unit.

The center, located within the Kyangwali Refugee Settlement, is run by the Government of Uganda with support from the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR.

Jackson Tulinde has been the In-Charge at the health centre for the last two and a half years. He points at an old incinerator: “It was built many years ago and has been helping us for some good time. But with the increased number of refugees, and the increased visits to the out-patient department and maternity section, there was a need to have a more standardized incinerator that could absorb the increase in waste.”
Tulinde then walks towards the new incinerator that was built by IOM with support of the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF): “Unlike the old incinerator, [this] new one consumes less fuel, it takes a short time to burn a large amount of waste, it is easy to clean, and it looks better,” he says with a smile.

He explains that the new incinerator burns non-infectious waste like papers, used-gloves, and syringes. Anything with glass needs to be crushed before it is burned.
“By the time IOM came on board, the old incinerator had stopped working well, so some material would remain unburnt,” he says. “If we had continued using the old incinerator, we would have accumulated waste which could have become dangerous for the patients and the health workers.”

OM, with support from CERF, also built waste management facilities at the Kagoma Reception Centre, including a garbage bank and an incinerator, and installed four waste collection bins. The centre hosts refugees upon arrival, before they are allocated plots in Kyangwali Settlement. This was after sector partners raised a red flag over accumulating waste at Kagoma.

“At the height of the cholera outbreak, the situation quickly became alarming:  there was a lot of open dumping of both degradable and non-degradable refuse and stagnant water which creates a breeding ground for mosquitoes, and this could result in the spread of malaria,” says Mathew Okitel, a WASH project assistant with IOM.

IOM also constructed a laundry deck and sensitized the communities about the benefits and the importance of managing waste water, and the risks of waste water. As a result, the practice of washing on the deck is picking up.

David Upendo and his family arrived at the reception centre in October 2017, and he now works there as a cleaner.  He proudly talks about the improved hygiene: “Look around – you will see for yourself that the centre is clean. When we experienced the cholera outbreak at the beginning of this year, many people at this reception centre lost their lives. Right now, nobody is troubled by cholera.”

The Kyangwali Refugee Settlement has been in existence for more than 50 years. Most refugees are from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. According to the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, more than 300,000 Congolese have fled to Uganda from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Other waste management facilities built with CERF funds in Kyangwali include one incinerator each at Kasonga Health Centre II and Rwanyewawa Health Centre, as well as a placenta pit at the Medical Teams International health facility in Maratatu zone.

For more information about this story, please contact the Public Information Office at ugandapiu@iom.int; Tel +256 312 263 210

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The ”European Union Response to Forced Displacement in the Framework of the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework in Uganda 2018-2020 and post-2020” is a result of a close cooperation between EU services and Member States in the past two years. The EU Nexus Action Plan follows on a decision dated back to September 2017 when EU Ministers requested the operationalisation of the humanitarian-development nexus in Uganda, as one of six pilot countries, namely Chad, Iraq, Myanmar, Nigeria, Sudan, and Uganda.

The overall objective of the EU Humanitarian-Development Nexus in Uganda is to increase the effectiveness of the EU’s contribution to the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF) roll-out. The objective of this process is to encourage humanitarian, development and political/diplomatic actors within the EU to add value to each other by identifying collective objectives to work better together, go beyond co-ordination for short-term results, and harness collective action towards longer-term strategic.

The Nexus process is placed firmly in the context of the country’s application of the CRRF and the respective National Roadmap and focuses on supporting the EU services and its Member States contribution towards the achievement of the CRRF objectives.

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In a joint effort to foster animal health in Uganda, the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations have instituted national technical and steering committees to spearhead effective and efficient animal disease surveillance across the country. These committees will be representative of animal health surveillance stakeholders in Uganda and will be guide on surveillance activities in the country.  Both the steering and technical committees will be responsible for overseeing all surveillance activities at the national and local government levels. Members will include chief veterinary officers, representatives of national farmers’ federation or  association, representatives of veterinarians in private practice (technical group, association or union), representatives from Uganda Wildlife Authority, principal managers of the Epidemio-Surveillance System (ESS), Project managers taking part in epidemiological surveillance, animal health research organization (National Livestock Resource Research Institute (NALIRRI) and relevant technical organizations.

Formation of these committees followed recommendations of the FAO Surveillance Evaluation Tool (SET) assessment, carried out in March 2018. The assessment found that although, Uganda has good laboratory capacity at the central level, and priority zoonotic diseases have been identified through the One Health platform, a number of gaps must be addressed for effective operations for epidemio-surveillance in the livestock sub-sector. One of the gaps was institutional oversight and  absence of national steering and technical committees on surveillance. With the coming into force of these committees therefore, the country will benefit from improved coordination and prioritization of surveillance activities..

According to the Head of Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Disease (ECTAD) in Uganda, Dr Sam Okuthe, the committees will oversee all surveillance activities at the national level while District Surveillance Focal Persons will be the lead on animal disease surveillance at local government levels.  The district level focal will liaise with the National technical committee on surveillance activities including reporting to relevant organizations that include World Animal Health Organization (OIE) and Africa Union – Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR)

The SET is part of FAO’s tools used by National Veterinary Services and ministries of member countries to evaluate the epidemio-surveillance system in the country. The tool provides an objective, standardized, comprehensive and systematic evaluation of animal health surveillance systems.

Following the successful pilot of the tool in Tanzania and Liberia, Uganda was among  the  countries to use the SET to assess the country’s capacity to detect, prevent and control diseases; focusing on: institutional organization and legal frameworks, quality of laboratory analyses, surveillance activities and methodology, epidemiology workforce capacity and management as well as communication and reporting of results to internal, local, multi-sectoral and international stakeholders.

Findings from the assessment highlighted other good practices in Uganda as: rapid response to disease outbreaks, laboratory growth, qualified workforce and ongoing outreach programs. However, some of the gaps were poor transportation infrastructure, lack funding for surveillance, lack of standard operating procedures for surveillance data processing and analysis, and poor internal communications systems.

The SET Report made eleven recommendations and action plans that will be implemented in three phases of short term, mid-term and long term. They include;

Identify and appoint surveillance focal points (FP) at district veterinary offices; Operationalize the One Health Platform and increase preparedness for zoonotic disease outbreak response; Ensure quality surveillance reporting by promoting training programs that reinforce the importance of proper surveillance techniques; Institute steering and technical committees to coordinate surveillance efforts at national and field levels; Upgrade disease reporting tools to improve timeliness and compliance of information flow from the sub-national to the central level; Develop a formalized national surveillance plan that brings together active and passive activities; Increase internal and external stakeholders’ participation in surveillance activities through the development of a surveillance communication plan; Develop capacity for advanced epidemiological analyses; Enhance budgetary autonomy of surveillance activities at the central level; and Develop a laboratory strategic plan/network to coordinate laboratory work

Speaking at the dissemination meeting held in Entebbe, the Commissioner for Animal Health (CAH) at MAAIF- Dr. Anna Rose Ademun Okurut reiterated that  the findings of the evaluation exercise were timely and would be used to inform planning and mapping out priorities on surverillance activities. She noted that the livestock sub-sector remains the weak link of the general health sector, yet it contributes 75 percent of diseases that affect humans.

“Most of the diseases in Uganda come from animals to humans yet the animal sector remains week. If we are to control or prevent them, we need to collectively shift our focus to animals and the animal sector so that we control them at the source thereby reducing their impact on human life but also boost production of the sector,” she said, while speaking at a dissemination meeting of the SET findings, held in Entebbe.

She further called on stakeholders to prioritize active surveillance in order to obtain timely, reliable and accurate data which is critical to early response and prevention of disease, saying that many of the stakeholders come in to respond after disease outbreak has been reported.

“Surveillance is something which people don’t appreciate because it involves looking for disease when it has not occurred. Budget holders do not appreciate putting resources to establish diseases when it has not occurred yet is the most cost-effective approach to prevent and control diseases, with no or minimal spread,” she said.

During the dissemination meeting, several technical officers from Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries, National Agriculture Research Organization (NARO), National Livestock Resources Research Institute (NALIRRI), College of Veterinary Medicine Animal Resources and Biosecurity, District Veterinary Officers, representatives of the private sector i.e. Uganda Meat Producers Cooperative Union (UMPCU), UGACHICK and a private laboratory services provider and non-governmental organizations, Ministry of Health and Uganda Wildlife Authority attended. MAAIF officials called on the FAO and other partners to support development of the National Veterinary Laboratory Policy and the National Animal Disease Diagnostics and Epidemiology operation strategy that will guide on the operations of this very important on the management of animal diseases in Uganda.

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Kyosimire Shamira, 18, spoke softly as she clasped her one-and-a-half-year-old daughter tightly to her chest.

“Being a mother at a young age has not been easy, but with every day that passes I am more hopeful about the future,” she said, as the restless toddler attempts to pull at colorful bits of paper hanging from the ceiling.

Shamira was one of 10 young mothers gathered in a one-room cubicle, where the Nkingo Girls Club meets weekly. More than half are young mothers between 17 and 21, carrying infants on their laps.

The young women are members of the Nkingo Girl’s Club in Kamwenge district, which helps address the needs of child survivors and those at risk of sexual violence, including access to health care, legal aid, as well as livelihood support. Nkingo one of 35 clubs in Kamwenge and Kabarole  run by Building Resources Across Communities (BRAC), a non-profit group supported by the World Bank through the Supporting Children’s Opportunities through Protection and Empowerment (SCOPE) Project.

The girl’s clubs are structured based on BRAC’s Empowerment and Livelihoods for Adolescents model, which creates safe spaces for child survivors and others at risk of sexual violence. The clubs also provide peer-to-peer learning, empowerment and life skills courses, as well as entrepreneurship and financial literacy. Sexual health and family planning are also offered.

Sexual violence is one of the social risks associated with the construction of big infrastructure projects, particularly in poverty-stricken areas where the community is more vulnerable due to the changes from the project. Owokunda Daphine, a member of Nkingo Girls’ Club and mother of a three-year-old said, “we get convinced easily [by money] because of our situation.”

The SCOPE Project also works to prevent and respond to social risks associated with infrastructure projects by informing approaches to identifying threats and applying lessons to World Bank projects. Implemented by the Ministry of Gender, Labor and Social Development, the SCOPE Project has strengthened structures for survivors in healthcare, legal aid, livelihoods support and community support.

“When they are in the clubs, the girls are able to talk openly and share their experiences, which provides them with a strong social support network,” said Batanda Rita, BRAC’s regional coordinator. “Most of them are mothers and they don’t ostracize each other for that.”

The Nkingo Girl’s Club has a total membership of 42 girls, mainly school drop-outs and under-age mothers. All come from very poor, struggling families.

Several young mothers said they became pregnant due to peer pressure and lack of sexual education. Some club members admitted they got married very early to escape abusive and violent homes where they were routinely abused by alcoholic parents or guardians. According to the 2016 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey, a quarter of 15-19-year-olds, have given birth. The government’s National Strategy to End Child Marriage and Teenage Pregnancy, launched in June 2016, shows that teenage pregnancies are highest in Northern Uganda (59%), closely followed by Western (58%), Eastern (52%), East Central (52%), West Nile (50%) and Central (41%).

Ruth Ninsiima, 17, has learned tailoring, and this has allowed her to become financially independent and to contribute to home expenses. “The relationship with my parents was very bad. But we are now getting along well because I contribute some money at home from my tailoring business,” she said.

Each club has an experienced, trained mentor who monitors the progress of each member, and follows-up with them throughout their membership. The mentors also guide the weekly discussions and offer leadership training to the members.

The World Bank and London School of Economics have evaluated BRAC’s ELA model as one of the most successful current interventions to prevent teenage pregnancy. Randomized trials over a two-year period showed that teenage pregnancy rates decreased by 20% to 25% in villages with an ELA program, compared to a control sample from similarly situated villages without one. The girl’s clubs in Uganda are off to a promising start, said Antony Thompson, World Bank Country Manager for Uganda.

“Our long-term goal is to support the Ugandan government to operationalize the National Policy on the elimination of gender-based violence,” he said. “We would like to see a transformation of social norms and behaviors so that violence towards women – both young and old – becomes taboo rather than as an accepted norm.”

Blog: “An Effective legal and referral system is critical to addressing gender-based violence”

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Spared the congestion of the Uganda’s capital Kampala, Jinja, a town in the east, has a more leisurely beat to it. The predominant art deco buildings all over the town reinforce its modern feel. The town also has a wild side. It lies on the Nile; whose downstream wild white-water rapids are a draw for rafters and kayakers, earning Jinja the reputation as East Africa’s adventure capital.

Until 2016, the road to Jinja from Kampala was part of the adventure. Its potholes were a menace to motorists and cyclists and making it nearly impassable.

Today, the drive into Jinja is smooth and comfortable. Reconstruction of 2.22km Nalufenya-Clive Road West concluded in October 2016. The redesigned road is wider, has a working drainage system, traffic signs, and bus stops. At night, it is lit by solar-powered streetlights.

The improvements were made under the Uganda Support to Municipal Infrastructure Development Program (USMID), implemented by the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development and financed by a $150 million loan from the International Development Association (IDA). The first phase of the program was approved in 2013 and will run to the end of 2018.

USMID is being implemented in 14 municipalities across the country to expand infrastructure and improve service delivery. Eligible infrastructure includes roads, waste management, water and sewerage extension to peri-urban areas, and local economic infrastructure such as markets and slaughterhouses, and bus, taxi, and lorry parks.

So far in Jinja, a total of 77.56km of equivalent two-lane roads with associated road infrastructure have been improved, including

• 94kms of covered lined drains have been constructed
• 70.5kms of open lined drains
• 111.22kms of pedestrian walkways
• 45.31kms of cycle lanes
• 65.43parking lanes
• 2,633 solar lights for safety and reduction of urban crime, and
• 1300 trash cans to manage litter.

It has also constructed three taxi parks with 328 lock-up shops and 143 parking lots for vehicles and a Lorry park.

USMID is a welcome intervention, according to Jofram Waidhuba, the deputy town clerk of Jinja Municipal Council. “For the first-time urban councils have had a giant intervention in infrastructure,” he said.

Jinja town’s three divisions have 80km of tarmac roads, most of which are in a poor state, and 90km of murram roads that require upgrading. But its annual road budget of just over Shs1.2bn ($328,760) can only reconstruct 1.5km of road – excluding drainage reconstruction, road signs, and streetlight installation.

“With just the Shs1.2bn, we need 80 years to reconstruct Jinja town’s tarmac roads,” Waidhuba said, noting that local politicians demand that it is spread across the three Jinja Municipality divisions – Central Division, Walukuba/Masese Division, and Mpumudde/Kimaka/Nalufenya Division. “The result is very thin results on the ground.”

USMID has also helped the municipalities enhance their revenue sources, according to Isaac Mutenyo, the program’s coordinator.

“We discovered that many municipalities and other local governments have many revenue sources, but use inadequate methods to collect this revenue,” he said.

An inventory of possible revenue sources showed that many municipalities did not collect property rates or ground rents, Mutenyo said. Today, they all now have property rates and revenue source registers. Revenue from those sources could be spent on improving infrastructure and other essential services.

The new roads will also save money in the long run, said Mutenyo, as they were designed to last for 20 years, minimizing need for repairs for the foreseeable future. The newly-installed street lights also use solar power rather than the more expensive hydropower.

While these measures will lead to a “substantial” increase in municipality revenues, they are still not enough to ensure that the new infrastructure is well-maintained. Government support – which was 90% of total municipal funding in 2013 – has reduced overtime.

Government leaders expect the Bank’s funding to attract investment from other donors and the private sector, as well as lead to an increase in central government funding, as urban areas expand and national tax revenue increases.

“The business environment has improved significantly in our municipality. Our hotels are always full, farmers can transport their produce to the market easily, and businesses are staying open for longer hours because of the good roads and street lights,” said David Kyasanku, Town Clerk of Hoima Municipality in Western Uganda. “This has increased our revenue collection, and as a town council we are delivering better services to our people.”

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Nearly 20,000 children in West Nile will benefit from improved water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services, thanks to a grant from the Government of Iceland. The funding is targeting four health centres and seven schools with limited WASH facilities but provide services to numerous patients and learners, including both South Sudanese refugees and host communities.  Communities surrounding the targeted health centres and schools will also benefit from the services.

“Supporting the construction of WASH facilities that meet national standards for health facilities and schools will contribute to a conducive environment for patients, caregivers, health workers, learners and teachers,” said H.E Unnur Orradóttir Ramette, Ambassador of Iceland in Uganda. “We are, therefore, happy to learn that our support will contribute to the reduction of child mortality and morbidity and prevent WASH-related diseases in West Nile region,” added Ambassador Ramette.

A WASH conditions assessment conducted in 99 health centres in West Nile revealed that 85 per cent of the health centres had limited water supply due to lack of reliable water sources within their premises. The health centres sampled rely mainly on rain water harvesting during the rainy season.  However, many of the rain water harvesting structures are non-functional. The situation in schools is not any different, given that only a few schools meet the recommended pupil stance ratio of 40:1.  Majority of the schools in West Nile are far above the national average pupil stance ratio of 70:1.

The funds from Iceland will benefit the districts of Arua and Yumbe, targeting 50 per cent refugees and 50 per cent host communities. Specifically, the contribution will support:
– The provision of 11 mini solar powered water supply facilities including drilling of a new borehole fitted with a solar powered pump and the provision of a 10,000-litre storage tank;
– The construction of gender-friendly drainable latrines, handwashing stations and incinerators. This will involve the provision of 11 toilets and bathrooms with suitable fittings for ease of use by pregnant women and women who deliver at the health centres. In addition, the girls’ washrooms in the 7 schools will be equipped with water for menstrual hygiene management;
– Training of 11 institutional WASH management structures on hygiene promotion, and operation and maintenance of WASH facilities in health centres and schools;
– Training of school management committees and school health clubs on menstrual hygiene management; and
– Sanitation and hygiene promotion in areas around the schools and health centre.

“UNICEF aims to increase access to sanitation and ensure sustainable WASH services in underserved areas including provision of WASH facilities in schools and health centres. Investments in WASH service provision for schools and health centres will create a favourable atmosphere for learning and a better healthcare environment for women and children,” said UNICEF’s Representative in Uganda, Dr. Doreen Mulenga. “We are grateful for the support from the Iceland Government that will contribute to a reduction of water borne diseases among refugee children and host communities,”
Dr. Mulenga added.

About Icelandic International Development Cooperation
Iceland has focused on the development needs of Uganda since year 2000 and contributed specifically to WASH initiatives, sanitation and education. Humanitarian assistance as well as the implementation of selected SDG goals; the protection of the environment, the promotion of human rights, gender equality, peace and security and fight against social injustice, disparity in living conditions, hunger and poverty all constitute the fundaments of the Icelandic International Development Cooperation.

About UNICEF
UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, to build a better world for everyone. For more information about UNICEF and its work for children, visit www.unicef.org

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The Government of Uganda with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) Programme have launched the Uganda Graduate Volunteer Scheme (GVS).

The GVS scheme, the first of its kind in the country, is intended to address the persistent unemployment challenge Ugandan young graduates under 30 years. It will provide young graduates with much needed work place skills and experience both in the public and private sector. The scheme will leverage volunteerism as an essential mechanism for skills development.

The scheme was developed by UNDP and the UNV Programme working in collaboration with Uganda’s Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, on behalf of the Government of Uganda.

“With 78% of Uganda’s population comprised of youth, there is need to devise new approaches and mechanisms for creating employment for the youth. This scheme is one of those approaches,” Ms. Rosa Malango, the UN Resident Coordinator said during the launch held in Kampala on December 5, 2018.

She added that the joint efforts of the government, the UN and other development partners would ensure that Uganda’s young people can secure decent work enabling them to contribute to eradicating poverty and achieving sustainable development.

The UGVS will specifically provide young graduates, below 30 years leaving institutions of higher learning, access to work spaces to gain employability skills on an annual basis. This is in line with the national development strategy to increase availability and quality of gainful employment and enhancing human capital development in the Country. The Graduate Volunteers will receive a package of services including; coaching, mentorship, learning from enterprise role models, connection to potential employers in the private and public sectors, and facilitation for access to finance. Already, 100 graduates have been recruited, trained and placed with 22 host institutions.

“We have 100 now, however, our aspiration is to have 500 young graduates placed in various institutions for 12months as volunteers,” Ms. Rosa Malango, the UN Resident Coordinator said.

She also proposed to have the scheme institutionalized as a formal Public-Private-Partnership mechanism, in the future, so that it benefits many more young people.

“Believe in yourself, have clear values and aspirations for yourself. Build your brand and a strong reputation of performance through team building, and you will achieve all the goals you set out for. Be ready to serve and learn,” Ms. Malango told the pioneer youth who also attended the event.

The Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development, Honourable Janat Mukwaya, observed that youth unemployment persists due to limited of work experience, lack of skills needed by labour market and limited connection to enterprise role models and innovative solutions.

“Work-based learning graduate volunteerism and the apprenticeship system is therefore one of the avenues for both the school-to-work transitions for young people and for the up-skilling of existing workers,” Minister Mukwaya said in a speech read for her by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Mr. Pius Bigirimana.

On his part, Mr Bigirimana said that the Graduate Volunteer Scheme would help put in place a solid policy recognizing volunteerism as a pathway to employment.

“The future prosperity of Uganda depends on the number of people in employment and how productive they are at work. This scheme is one way to ensure that our youth have the hands on skills to ensure the nation’s prosperity,” Mr. Bigirimana said.

Hajat Safinah Museene, a Commissioner in the Ministry of Education and Sports, said the Uganda Graduate Volunteer Scheme would complement the government’s Business, Technical, Vocational Education and Training (BTVET) policy.

The launch of the Graduate Volunteer Scheme coincided with the International Volunteers’ Day (IVD) which is commemorated on 5^th December annually. Its theme for 2018, “Volunteers Build Resilient Communities” ties right in with goals of the scheme.

“Volunteering helps communities to take control and to shape their own future. In a world evolving rapidly, local volunteers play a crucial role in bringing the United Nations commitment to leave no one behind to fruition,” Mr. Olivier Adam, the UNV Executive Coordinator said in his message to mark the day.

How the Graduate Volunteer Scheme Works:

Graduates intending to volunteer and host institutions can apply online through the link: http://gvsuganda.org/. The prospective volunteers are shortlisted and then matched to possible host institutions, depending on the available placement opportunities.  The process of matching and placing volunteers is carried out by a selection committee comprised of representatives from UNDP Uganda, UNV Uganda and the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development as well as Federation of Uganda Employers (FUE) which represents host institutions.  Once in board, volunteers go through a three-day residential orientation training to induct them prior to their 12 months placement.

Institutions which offered to host the first cohort of volunteers:

Over 20 institutions offered to host the graduate volunteers. These include; Ministry of Gender Labour and Social Development; National Planning Authority (NPA), Makerere University College of Agriculture & Environment,  National Youth Council, Uganda Blood Transfusion Service (UBTS), Federation of Uganda Employers (FUE), Nation Media Group, Hima Cement Ltd, UMEME Limited, Uganda Parliamentary Forum on Youth Affairs (UPFYA), Greenheat (U) Ltd, Self-Help Africa (SHA), Agripoint Initiatives Limited, Global Health Network Uganda, SNV Netherlands Development Organisation, World Vision Uganda, Catholic Relief Services, International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR), Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD), National Union of Disabled Persons of Uganda (NUDIPU), and Help Child Karamoja (HCK).

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Agriculture can provide jobs to Uganda’s unemployed youth if well harnessed, according to the twelfth Uganda Economic Update published on November 20, 2018 by the World Bank.

The report, “Developing Uganda’s Agri-Food System for Inclusive Economic Growth,” notes that the sector’s economic contribution extends well beyond the production sector into the wider food system, including related processing, manufacturing, and services. However, the employment potential of Uganda’s agriculture and agri-food system remains largely untapped, despite providing 70% of the country’s employment opportunities, contributing more than half of all exports, and about one-quarter of gross domestic product (GDP).

To realize agriculture’s potential, the report points out that the country will need to overcome a range of challenges. National agricultural output has grown at about 2% per annum over the last five years, which is well below the population growth rate and below the 3-5% growth rates in other East African countries. In the medium term, the agriculture growth rate is expected to remain around 2.5%, assuming reasonable weather conditions and no army worm infestations.

The report notes that both domestic and regional demand for agriculture commodities is on a rapid rise, and an increasing number of urban dwellers demand more processed food and protein-rich diets. By 2050, the Bank estimates that about 102 million people will live in Uganda, providing massive opportunities for the country’s agriculture sector and wider agri-food system.

“All steps along the value chain – food production, input provision, processing, handling, marketing, transport and retail – require labor, both skilled and unskilled, and can contribute to inclusive economic growth,” said Richard Ancrum Walker, World Bank Senior Economist and lead author of the report. “Uganda’s agri-food system really has the potential to enhance employment opportunities for the country’s predominantly young population, the majority of whom live in rural areas.”

Diverse agribusinesses, particularly along the dairy, maize and coffee value chains, have developed in recent years, linking farmers to inputs, markets and finance, and improving rural livelihoods. To fully harness the agriculture sector’s unique opportunities, the report recommends spurring the agribusiness dynamism, and continuing to shift the agriculture sector from low-value smallholder farming towards a higher value-added agri-food sector.

“Many Ugandan producers live in remote areas and have only limited access to markets and extension services, but also insecure rights to land; these challenges are particularly pronounced in the northern and northeastern parts of the country,” said Ladisy Komba Chengula, World Bank Lead Agriculture Economist. “To foster the agri-food system transformation and inclusive economic growth, agricultural productivity will need to increase, while the resilience of agriculture production systems and rural livelihoods to climate and market risks needs to be enhanced.”

Achieving agriculture productivity growth and resilience will require better technology, tenure security and sound land management practices, as well as the dissemination of knowledge on sustainable input use through effective extension services. Boosting the sector needs higher-value addition and job creation, policy implementation and regulation will need to be strengthened; institutional coordination improved; and private sector participation encouraged. The organization of producers and their integration into sustainable agri-food value chains should be supported to increase farmers’ access to finance and markets, and for the competitiveness of the sector more broadly.

To address this, the government has undertaken a series of policy and regulatory measures, ranging from new policies on irrigation and seeds to the setup of new agricultural finance mechanisms. These measures have, however, been insufficient according to the report, and sometimes even counterproductive. Furthermore, the report notes that limited differentiation has been made between the needs of smallholder, emerging commercial, and commercial farmers.

The economic update identifies four areas for immediate attention:

1. Fostering sustainable agricultural total factor productivity growth. To increase agricultural productivity, providing effective advisory (extension) services to smallholder farmers is important to enable them adapt quickly to new production technologies, regulate the markets for agricultural inputs to ensure their quality, and to help smallholder farmers to access inputs through targeted mechanisms, such as e-vouchers.
2. Promoting commercialization of agriculture, and private sector led value addition and trade. Smallholder farmers need to be assisted to invest in agriculture as a business, meaning producing surplus for the markets, to improve their incomes and livelihoods. To achieve this, access to markets and agro-processing facilities is key through their farmer or producer organizations.
3. Building resilience to agriculture production systems and managing related risks – climate change, disease and pests. Investing in irrigation and water harvesting technologies to combat climate variability and climate change is critical; as well as putting in place early warning systems (EWS) and emergency response mechanisms (ERM) for managing disasters, such as droughts, floods, and outbreak of pests and diseases.
4. Improving policy and regulatory environment and strengthening institutions. To attract private investments in the agriculture sector, the government needs to create an enabling business environment. This include addressing institutional capacity gaps at the national and district level, so that they are able to provide advisory and regulatory services; and adopting policies that will enhance competitions in the input (particularly seeds and fertilizers) and output markets, as well as value addition or agro-processing.

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A major programme to improve the delivery of quality nutrition services across Karamoja was launched on November 26, 2018. The Karamoja Nutrition Programme, funded by UK aid and implemented by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations World Food Programme, will strengthen the Government’s health system to ensure children and mothers across the region receive high quality health and nutrition services and are better nourished.

“Uganda is grateful to the Government of the United Kingdom, which has invested approximately £28 million pounds in Karamoja.  It is now important for all leaders at the central and local government levels to own the changes that this new programme will bring to the health system in Karamoja, and ensure that we sustain them over the long term,” said Hon. John Byabagambi, Minister for Karamoja.

The programme supports all District Local Governments in Karamoja to: develop the skills of nutritionists and health workers; improve the treatment of severe acute malnutrition in hospitals and health centres; generate evidence to improve the design of nutrition services; procure and manage quality nutrition supplies; and provide more effective nutrition leadership and coordination across all Government departments and partners.

“Working to strengthen the Government’s health system, with strong district leadership and engagement, presents an opportunity for Karamoja to address its malnutrition challenge,” said Francesca Stidston, the Head of Office for the Department for International Development (DFID) in Uganda. “The UK government is therefore pleased to launch the Karamoja Nutrition Programme which, along with our support to the prevention and control of malaria in the region, will contribute to improving the health and nutrition outcomes for the people of Karamoja,” said Stidston.

With 84 per cent of people in Karamoja unable to afford a nutritious daily diet, 45 per cent of households having limited access to food, and over half of all households not having much diversity in their diet, malnutrition is a major impediment to Karamoja’s development, undermining the health and economic prospects of the population.

“Considering more than 1 in 3 children in Karamoja experience stunted development due to malnutrition, this programme is timely in that it will help to ensure that children access higher quality nutrition services, which are essential to their survival and healthy development,” said Dr. Doreen Mulenga, UNICEF’s Representative in Uganda.

The programme will support: over 100,000 malnourished children under the age of 5 with a community based supplementary feeding programme; nearly 15,000 severely malnourished children with specialized treatment in hospitals and health centres; 140,000 children to receive Vitamin A supplements and deworming medication twice a year; and around 70,000 pregnant or breastfeeding women with iron folic acid supplements to treat anemia.

At the launch, the leadership from Karamoja’s eight districts – Abim, Amudat, Kaabong, Kotido, Moroto, Napak, Nakapiripirit and Nabilatuk – as well as leaders from the Ministry of Karamoja Affairs, committed to ensure that all pillars of the programme are fully integrated within the health sector and are effectively planned and budgeted for after the programme ends in three years.

“The Karamoja Nutrition Programme is a continuation of the Government of Uganda and development partners’ march to end child stunting in Uganda,” said WFP’s Country Director El-Khidir Daloum. “We are outraged by the level of stunting in Karamoja, which remains unacceptably high. Ending stunting is mission possible,” Daloum said.

While child stunting has reduced by roughly one percent every year in Karamoja since 2006, 35 percent of all children under the age of 5 in Karamoja are still stunted. The Karamoja Nutrition Programme compliments other programmes in Karamoja, such as the Karamoja Resilience Support Unit supported by USAID, Irish Aid, and UK aid and GIZ’s programme to improve the reliability of water supply and sanitation in selected health centers, which collectively contribute to a comprehensive multi-sectoral nutrition response to all people across Karamoja.

To learn more about the Karamoja Nutrition Programme, see https://www.unicef.org/uganda/resources_22010.html

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On November 16, 2018, Uganda and Germany successfully concluded government negotiations in Kampala. The negotiations aimed to agree on the development cooperation programme for the next two years 2019 – 2020. The overarching framework of this years government negotiations was composed by Ugandas National Development Plan II (NDP II) and the “Marshall-Plan with Africa ” being the new strategic basis for German Development Cooperation.

With a major focus on North Uganda both sides agreed on new programmes in the focus areas Renewable Energy, Agriculture and Rural Development including support to refugee hosting communities. Further initiatives to strengthen the public finance management systems, Governance and Civil Society as well as Technical and Vocational Training for job creation for the youth in Uganda were concluded. Germany’s bilateral programmes are implemented by German International Cooperation (GIZ) and KfW – the German Development Bank. All initiatives aim to support Uganda to achieve its national targets within the Agenda 2030 and AU Agenda 2063.

German support of a project for refugee hosting communities in the agriculture and rural development programme with EUR 15 million is the major part of a total investment of EUR 36.2 million in Agriculture and Rural Development. With this programme Germany helps exploiting the potential of Uganda’s agricultural sector for promotion of employment and income generation as well as to increase food security. Former water and sanitation sector activities have been re-focused on water resources management and water for agricultural production to address the growing pressure on the water resources through increased use of water for production and on effects of climate change.

A new approach in the energy sector was achieved by planning 40 solar-powered mini-grids in rural areas to bring electricity to marginalized villages far away from the national grid. These mini-grids will serve families and small scale industries with reliable access to electricity for private and productive use. Additional German cooperation will continue on implementation of ongoing investment projects during the coming two years. Three new projects in this sector are facilitated with a contribution of EUR 23.2 million. German cooperation will continue to emphasize on the promotion of private investments in the energy sector. An excellent example is the ongoing very successful GetFit Program which uses private and public funds to enhance decentralized renewable power generation.

Uganda records a steady growth of its economy by 4% yearly, which is mostly attributed to extensive infrastructure programmes and improved policies on financial management.  However, about 40% of the Ugandan population still lives below the poverty line despite many improvements. Population growth and challenges with the public finance management systems are amongst the biggest obstacles for advanced development in Uganda. Additional activities in the area of Anti-Corruption, Public Finance Reform, Governance, Human Rights and Civil Society support are meant to address these issues with greater focus in the coming years by German support amounting to another EUR 10.1 million, with another EUR 10 million envisaged, subject to German parliamentarian approval.

The government negotiations took place in an open, constructive and warm atmosphere and were concluded by the signing of joint summary records on 16th November 2018 by the Deputy Secretary to the Treasury, Mr. Patrick Ocailap, for the Ugandan side and by the Director for East Africa of the Federal Ministry of Development Cooperation, Mr. Niels Breyer, as head of the German Delegation.

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