The Government of Belgium has made a financial contribution of Ugx 16 Billion to UNICEF, aimed at improving the welfare of over 3,000 vulnerable girls in Kampala.
The UNICEF social protection program dubbed “Girls Empowering Girls” will support girls in and out of school through mentorship, linkages to essential social services and a cash transfer to enable them to transition safely into adulthood.
The implementation of this program has been made possible by Kampala Capital City Authority in the five divisions of Kampala; Lubaga, Makindye, Kawempe, Nakawa and Central.
Rudi Veestraeten, Ambassador of Belgium in Uganda and South-Sudan noted “With our support, Belgium aims to demonstrate the impact of innovative financing modalities such as cash assistance in order to help inform the establishment of social protection mechanisms in Uganda”.
The Girls Empowering Girls (GEG) program launched in 2019, is the first program providing social protection to adolescent girls in Uganda and represents an important milestone in the government’s efforts to achieve comprehensive social protection that is gender and age sensitive.
In urban areas, adolescent girls face effects of abject poverty and suffer exclusion, while remaining vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.
This situation has been worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic while posing new challenges for children and young people. Adolescent girls, in particular, are vulnerable to teenage pregnancies, which contribute to school dropouts and reduce income-generating opportunities.
“As stakeholders, we have a duty to ensure that all children enjoy their rights as enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, including the right to protection,” Dr Munir Safieldin, UNICEF Representative in Uganda, noted.
Additionally, he expressed optimism for the future as far as service delivery to the young people is concerned, through this initiative.
“With the financial contribution from the Belgian Government, we will work with the Government of Uganda, through Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) to scale up the GEG programme from the current 1,500 to 3,000 in and out-of-school adolescent girls. We are confident this unique intervention will keep growing and help sustain demand for critical services by young people in Kampala,” he added.