un uganda newsletter december 2011

Newsletter December - 2011

Newsletter - December 2011

Voices of Hope


The United Nations Country Team in Uganda consists of the following agencies: World Food Programme (WFP), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), UN Entity for the Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women (UN Women), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), World Health Organisation (WHO), Offi ce of the High Commission for Human Rights (OHCHR), Offi ce for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), International Labour Organisation (ILO), UN agency for Human Settlements Programme (UN HABITAT), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), International Organisation for Migration (IOM), United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), United Nations Educational, Scientifi c and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and United Nations Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS).

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

A Word from the Resident Coordinator 4 Oiling Income Wheels through Farming

When Cultural Heritage Sustains Families

The Community Stood By Me When I Cried for Help

International Peace Day 2011

Tracking Strides in Girls’ Education

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Improving Livelihoods Through Transaction

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Fighting Female Genital Mutilation through Enterprise 10

Delivering As One to Mothers of Karamoja

Buttressing Gender in Local Economic Development

Catherine’s Race for Life 12

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Cover Photograph: A newborn baby in a Health Centre III in Rukungiri District. Both mother and baby were recuperating12 hours after the delivery and the midwife on duty immunsied the baby with the polio vaccine. This took place during second round of the national polio immunisation exercise conducted in all the districts on the western border of Uganda. UNICEF Uganda is support-ing the Ministry of Health in keeping children alive through immunisation campaigns such as this polio immunisation campaign. Photograph credit - UNICEF/2011/Ijuka Agnes Barongo.Pages 5, 9 and 15 - UNICEF/2010/Photshare

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Delivering As One for Progress 18


Dear reader,The United Nations, through its different partnerships, aims to contribute to progress and development in the life of the most vulnerable Ugandans.

The Voices of Hope for change which is the overall theme for this UN Newsletter - reviews the successes of individuals that have been able to make a positive change in their communities. As one reads through this newsletter, it will be evident that the UN in Uganda is continuing to work with the Government of the Republic of Uganda to effect that positive change that allows for every single person touched through a specifi c project, to feel the difference in their household income, health and family life.

The successes are evident in the areas of nutrition and food security, were improvised implements to farming are helping to produce higher farm yields. In gender rights where alternative income sources of cutters are being substituted to prevent girls from undergoing the harrowing experience of female genital mutilation; To the broader community approach of sensitising parishes on the importance of peace that should be preserved and sustained for people to attain development in northern Uganda.

But challenges still prevail with targets in maternal and infant mortality yet to be met, the need for the girl child to stay the course of education, addressing the high rate of teenage pregnancies among other critical issues affecting development. The Government of the Republic of Uganda is thus working with support from the UN in Uganda and relevant partners to explore how these gaps can be addressed.

Through the common strategic framework of the United Nations Development Assistance Framework which is aligned to national priorities’ laid out in the National Development Plan interventions designed to address the prevailing gaps that lead to overall poverty. Impact and sustainability of these interventions are key in the UN in Uganda’s support of the Government of the Republic of Uganda in achieving targets laid out under the eight Millennium Development Goals.

So as we conclude another fi nancial and programmatic year of delivery, this is the time of refl ection, revision and re-strategizing for the New Year. The UN in Uganda through the UN Communications Group share these stories - Voices of Hope - that remind us of the milestones that

have been achieved which serve to drive us on in making the difference in the lives of ordinary Ugandans. The stories of Catherine and Jane in Panyangara, Karamoja, who have gotten increased access to health services, or of Beatrice in Kyenjojo, who returned to school with the help of a Girls’ Education Movement club or Janan who is farming and transacting business under a peaceful environment show that the UN is working together to make a positive change on the ground. Looking ahead into 2012, I am confi dent that we will go even further to continue the harmonization and integration of UN activities in Uganda. This is to be achieved with the continued support of the Government of the Republic of Uganda in close partnership with civil society and the private sector with the aim of delivering even better services to the people of Uganda.Happy New Year 2012.

A Word from the Resident Coordinator

UNITED NATIONS COMMUNICATIONS GROUPThis Newsletter, is produced by the United Nations Communications Group (UNCG). The UNCG is made up of designated public information, communications and advocacy offi cers representing UN entities in-country.

Between regular meetings and adhoc special events and initiatives, the UNCG works to promote public awareness and informed debate on critical issues affecting the lives and rights of members ot he community served by the United Na-tions. In 2011, the UNCT is chared by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and co-chaired by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). For further information, please contact:

Dheepa Pandian Michael Wangusa [email protected] [email protected] Tel: +256-417-171-114 Tel: +256-414-312-338-100

Theophane Nikyema UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator.

Theophane Nikyema UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator

UNICEF/2010/ ANNE LYDIA SEKANDI

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The UN in Uganda is collectively supporting the Government to improve Nutrition and Food Security. A UN Joint Programme on Nutrition and Food Security is managed by UN Children’ Fund (UNICEF), World Food Programme (WFP) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Other UN actors in the fi eld include International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO). In this section, UN Uganda shares stories on how interventions have positively improved the nutrition and development of households.

NUTRITION AND FOOD SECURITY


“Zibula Attudde,” James Lutaaya says in Luganda without hesitation which means, ‘The person who sits and does not work will never fi nd money.’ For this 57 year old resident of Kayunga, Kalangala District, commercial farming requires hard work and dedication.

“I have 72 acres of oil palm, divided between my wife of 31 years, my children and me. The portions are different based on the level of responsibility.” He may be a Primary Seven drop out and very conservative but he is a progressive and liberal person when it comes to property ownership.

Lutaaya was a fi sherman at the age of 14 years then in 1971, he started working in the fi eld of lumbering and charcoal burning. As a fi shing community the majority of the people do not farm. Most of the food was brought to the island from Masaka.

“Although we got money from fi shing, we remained poor because we did not use the money wisely. We believed the fi sh would always be there so there was no need of saving money,” he says.

Then he decided to volunteer his land for use as a pioneer oil palm fi eld in 1992, because it was lying idle. The palms fl ourished and his

family started using their own home to make oil from the mature fruits. This encouraged him to take up a loan from the Oil Palm Growers Trust to establish his oil palm farm in 2005. He started harvesting in 2009 and has not looked back since.

“When I was approached to consider oil palm growing, I felt I had nothing to lose by trying it. I am glad I did not sit back like some people. Now I have money.

My father left me with only 36 acres of land,” Lutaaya explicates. Currently, in addition to the 72 acres under oil palm, he has another 21 acres for food production and for other enterprises such as poultry, a piggery, and some cows.

Due to his being

hardworking and exemplary as a farmer, Lutaaya was elected as Local Council I (LC) Chairperson of the farmers in his block. Furthermore, in his parish he has served in the position of LC1 for the last 10 years and LC2 Chairperson in the last six years.

Janet Nassali - Lutaaya’s wife - recounts how she has never had to buy edible oil for her family since they started harvesting from their acreage.

The fresh fruit bunches are sold to the crude palm oil mill at around UGX 450 per kilogramme. Every 10 days, they harvest between three to fi ve tonnes. She appreciates spending more time with her husband because now, he does not have to go fi shing all night or

Oiling Income Wheels through Farming By International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Ann Turinayo

spend long periods of time in the forest burning charcoal.

Per capita oil consumption for Ugandans is about three kilogrammes which is far below the recommended seven kilogrammes by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), one of the UN bodies that works with IFAD on the Agriculture Donor Working Group towards promoting food security and nutrition.

Currently Uganda spends $ 60-80 million a year on crude palm oil imports. So far, there are 1,000 small scale oil palm farmers in Kalangala District, who like Lutaaya, contribute to Uganda’s import substitution in addition to improving the nutritional intake of their families and accessing more incomes.

Oil Palm Smallholder plants more seedlings. IFAD with other partners in the Agriculture Donor Working Group - like FAO offers technical support for farmers on Kalangala Islands.

IFAD/2010/ SUSAN BECCIO

6Newsletter December 2011


Improving Livelihoods Through Transaction By World Food Programme, Joseph Olupot

In early 2002, a sombre mood hung over Janan Odong’s home after their worst fear came true. Their village, Olupe Ojuu, in Agago District – was no longer safe because of increased attacks by rebels of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).

That day, Odong, his wife and fi ve children packed their few belongings they could carry and spent the next two hours trekking to the nearest Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp.

“The fi rst weeks in the camp were very diffi cult,” recalls Odong, 37. “The seven of us shared a dingy, makeshift shelter.”

During the worst years of the LRA insurgency, starting in 1996, the majority of people in northern Uganda were displaced from their villages and livelihoods and forced to live in squalid, often overcrowded camps. These people could not access their farms, and depended entirely on UN agencies and other stakeholders for food, shelter and medical care.

When peace returned in 2007 – the IDPs began to return home to rebuild their livelihoods.

“Starting afresh was a big challenge. We had no house, no food and no source of income. The only asset we had was our land, so we embarked on

farming,” says Odong. However, like most

subsistence farmers in his village, Odong produced just enough food to feed his household, and was often left with little or no amounts of food to sell.

In June 2010, he was persuaded by a friend to join Penongi Labedo, a farmers’ group comprising of 25 households, which receives support from the UN World Food Programme (WFP) under its Purchase for Progress (P4P) initiative.

Under this initiative, WFP works closely with the Government of Uganda and the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) to train smallholder farmers in improved farming methods,

group marketing, record keeping and management of produce, to help them cut down on post-harvest losses.

In addition, WFP is constructing warehouses, rehabilitating market access roads and strengthening access to market information by farmers groups. The overall aim is to improve nutrition and food security through the Delivering as One approach by reducing rural poverty. The farmers’ groups are being helped to sell more quality grain at a good price.

For farmers like Odong, the benefi ts from P4P have been immediate. In September 2011, he earned over nearly one

million shillings (about US$350) after selling one-and-a-half tons of maize from his two-acre farm.

With the increased income, Odong was able to send two of his children to boarding school, a luxury he says he could not afford a year ago.

When asked what else he did with the rest of his money, Odong points at a tin-roofed house not far from where we are seated and says with a bright smile; “I bought bricks, cement and iron sheets for constructing that three bed-roomed house where we all live now.

I also paid medical bills for my father. He had a stomach problem but he is now fi ne.”

The return of peace and security in northern Uganda has enabled the farming of crops. Maize farming has provided high yields to this lady’s family.

WFP/2011/ JOSEPH OLUPOT

7 United Nations in Uganda


When Cultural Heritage Sustains Families By United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Suzan Sewagudde

‘‘I didn’t get the opportunity to get educated and I want this to end with me. My children have to study irrespective of the fact that I solely cater for all their needs as a parent,” Sarah Nakalyowa states. A resident of Kiryagonja Village, Matugga and a single mother of fi ve, she has successfully used handicraft basketry production to support her family.

“Today, I am able to feed, cloth, educate, pay medication bills for my family because of weaving baskets and selling them. I am thankful that I learnt how to weave baskets when I was a girl. That time, basket weaving was regarded an activity for the uneducated,” she says.

Nakalyowa is a benefi ciary of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Cluster Development Project which seeks to enhance the quality and marketability of handicraft products to match market requirements for generating sustainable livelihoods.

When the project started in October 2010, Mpuiliziganya Craft Development Group enrolled as a member of the Luweero District Handicraft Cluster. Nakalyowa is the Chairperson and an active member of the group. She spends most of her free time encouraging village mates to join in the group’s activities.

Before enrollment, Mpuiliziganya Craft Development Group was an established but

struggling group of artisans engaged in handicraft production in a demanding market. UNIDO’s support came just in time to assist with training and transforming members’ products into high quality goods that would generate reasonable earnings for them. Nakalyowa is one of the selected trainees who benefi ted from an intensive training in product modifi cation and diversifi cation.

“The training has enabled me mix new skills learnt with the old skills taught to me by my mother. I weave better products with a defi ned touch of design and I have added new manufactured products to my list,” she says.

Regular weekly sales are made through market networks that have been established with traders based in Kampala. “On average, I am able to make fi ve baskets in a week, each basket costs UGX 10,000 bringing in a weekly gross income of UGX 50,000,” Nakalyowa says.

Access to raw materials has been solved by establishing a ‘bank’ for the artisans. She notes that she is able to obtain supplies of all the materials at reasonable prices, thus keeping her cost of production under control.

For Nakalyowa basketry handicraft is a business that enables her obtain a weekly income from the sale of quality products. This income provides Nakalyowa with the ability to cater to more than just basic welfare for her children.

The Mpuilizinganya Craft Development Group engages women such as these above, in the production and sale of their handcrafts to a ready market. The proceeds are used to supplement household income for social ammenities.

UNIDO/2011/ SUZAN SEWAGUDDE



GENDER AND RIGHTSThe UN Uganda is working together in the area of Gender and Gender Based Violence through three joint programmes: UN Joint Programme on Gender Equality, UN Joint Programme to Prevent and Respond to Gender Based Violence, UN Joint Programme on Female Genital Mutilation. From different aspects, the programmes aim to empower women to make productive and progressive decisions at household level, to live healthy lifestyles and to access justice and respect. The stories in this section refl ect the successes of women in providing for their families, making active choices on their future and fulfi lling their potential.


On the face of it, 60-year-old Jennifer Masai looks like any other grandmother. But for more than 10 years, she mutilated young girls’ genitals in her home district of Kween and beyond. She says she has now changed her mindset.

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is considered a rite of passage for girls to womanhood among the Sabiny community of Eastern Uganda. Masai is among the “surgeons” who have ensured that this practise continues in the area.

Masai claims that she started circumcising girls in respect of her ancestors’ spirits. “I did not learn to circumcise from anybody but from the spirits. I got very sick and the witchdoctors told me that my grandmother used to perform circumcision. I was given treatment and got well, that’s how I started circumcision,” she said.

But behind the spiritual explanations, there are economic benefi ts that she realised from the practise. Masai says that at the peak of her practise in 2008, she circumcised up to 50 girls a day, for which she would be paid a minimum of UGX 15,000 per girl and a hen or two, depending on its size.

The Mathematics puts her daily earnings

at UGX 750,000 without monetising the hens. For anyone living in rural Bunyiny sub-county four years ago, this was no mean income.

“And what did you do with the money,” I ask?

“I used it to support my children, pay dowry for the boys and build iron sheet-roofed houses for both boys and girls,” she replies. None of her four adult children has studied beyond Primary Seven, but with their mother’s income, they lived a fairly good life, growing crops and tending animals.

About three million girls in Africa are at a risk of undergoing

FGM annually, a cultural practise whose consequences include death, disability and complications during child birth.

In Uganda, the UN has been campaigning against FGM among the Sabiny community for over a decade now. Through the support from the UN Joint Programme on FGM, a joint effort of United Nations Population Fund, United Nations Children’s Fund and other partners, Government enacted the anti FGM law in 2009, which criminalises the practise. The law started biting last year and Masai was one of

the people arrested, allegedly for violating it. She stayed in prison for two months but was later released due to lack of evidence.

Besides enforcing the law, Masai and her colleagues lost a source of income when they stopped the FGM practice. With fi nancial support from the UN Joint Programme on Gender Equality, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) joined the fi ght against FGM by training former “cutters” and survivors into the skills of entrepreneurship.

Masai is one of 150 people-- mainly women-- that the ILO has trained in entrepreneurship in Kapchorwa and Kween districts this year. The trained groups are receiving funding from Government programmes like Community Driven Development, Local Government Management Services Delivery and Northern Uganda Social Action Fund for investing in their enterprises.

According to the Kapchorwa Assistant Chief Administrative Offi cer, Ms Irene Chelangat, economic empowerment will increase the community’s ability to take care of nutrition for children and education, which will eventually lead to eradicating FGM. Hopefully, Masai’s great granddaughters will live in an FGM-free era.

Fighting FGM through Enterprise By International Labour Organization (ILO), Grace Rwomushana

Jennifer Masai is an example of how social change can lead to an end in FGM practise in Kween District.

ILO/2011/ GRACE RWOMUSHANA



The Community Stood By Me When I Cried for Help By Evelyn Matsmura Kiapi, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)

My name is Sarah Adongo. I currently live in Tororo District. I got married in 1986 and I have three children. My husband died in 2005 and unfortunately, by that time, his father had not apportioned him land traditionally as required of fathers to their sons.

From that time, I remained at the mercy of my father-in-law. He was the one to show me where, what and how far to cultivate, yet I had children to look after. He let me cultivate on some piece of land for some time and did not tell me what to plant that time, so I went ahead and planted cassava. The crops were doing well but to my surprise, my father- in-law sold off the said piece of land without my notice. The buyer of the land showed up one day with his men and destroyed all my cassava. What were we going to feed on now? My father-in-law did not even show any form of remorse when I approached him about this. He just kept assuring me that the land was his and he could do anything he wanted with it.

Disappointed and upset, I went and reported the

matter to the Chairman Local Council (LCI) of my village who gave me a letter to take to the Police. The Police summoned my father-in-law and the men responsible for destroying my food, they did not turn up.

I was advised to seek help from MIFUMI, who’s protecting women and children against violence with support from United Nations Population Fund. The advisor at the advice center listened to me and supported me to contact and set up a meeting with our community elders to resolve my case.

We went back to the community and had a meeting with the members of the community. The advisor together with the community elders spoke to my father-in-law who listened and apologized for his actions and for the sake of his grandchildren agreed to allocate me a new piece of land on which to farm.

The men who destroyed my cassava were made to pay me 100 kilogrammes of dry cassava. I am now happy because I have land that I can use to cultivate and take care of my children.

Women such as Sarah and her daughters, left, are subjected to violence. However under the UN Joint Programme on Gender legal rights to property is addressed to provide for families and commuities are being sensitised by drama.

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UNFPA/2011/ EVELYN M. KIAPI

United Nations in Uganda


Catherine’s Race for LifeBy United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Rose Naula

Every time Catherine Lometo runs, she strives to win. The 15-year old athlete’s winning attitude earned her a place on the marathon team at Nnalinya Lwantale Senior Secondary School, Luweero District – in the heart of Uganda – where she has contested in numerous races.

Catherine’s “race for life” began in the arid terrain of Karamoja, northeastern Uganda. Running to fetch water, fi rewood, to school and back served as her training ground. Before long, she was running competitively in school, when she started participating in sports at Primary Five in 2008.

Luckily for Catherine, her school in Moroto District was one of those implementing the United Nations Children’s Fund - supported Sports for Life in Karamoja (SLIK) programme, which encouraged children between 6-14 years to take part in sports and related activities to mentor them in children’s rights, participation, mobilisation, and confl ict resolution. The programme targeted more than 49,000 children, encouraging them to enroll and stay in school through their right to play. The environment was just right to nurture the young girl’s talent.

“I started with long races then my teachers promoted me to compete with the neighbouring schools and districts where I always excelled,” says Catherine.

“My sports teacher (at the time) trained me before I started participating in the 5,000 meters race, which I won.” It was at this point that a coach was identifi ed to help the budding athlete improve her talent in preparation for international competition. Catherine is now well-established as a long distance runner.

“I participate in the long races

such as the 1,500 metres (that is three laps around a standard stadium), 5,000 metres, and 10,000 metres,” she says.

Catherine’s hard work paid off in 2010 when – in her fi nal year of primary school – she took part in the East African Championships in Khartoum, Sudan, where she fi nished 6th in the 10,000 metre race. The experience motivated her to continue running.

Catherine was spotted by Nnalinya Lwantale Senior Secondary School, which offered a scholarship for her “O” level education and an opportunity to pursue her sporting career. When she joined Nnalinnya Lwantale, Catherine was bursting with energy to continue. The school recognised her efforts, and arranged for her and other talented students to train under the direction of the sports club of Ndejje University, one of Uganda’s leading universities in sports.

Catherine has now been selected to represent Uganda as an Olympic Torchbearer in next year’s London Olympics. She is one of 8,000 students – 20 of them from the UNICEF-supported International Inspiration Programme – who will carry the Olympic Torch on

its 70-day journey from Greece to the Olympic Stadium in London, United Kingdom, where it will arrive on 27th July, 2012, the opening night of the 29th Olympic Games.

Through International Inspiration Programme, children are encouraged to improve their sports and to later become sports coaches for the next generation of athletes. It is a vision that Catherine has fi rmly embraced, especially since her talent and achievements have inspired other school girls to join sports.

“I wanted to become a nurse (when I was in primary school), but now I would love to become a sports coach in athletics and train the future generation of Ugandan youth to achieve their sports dreams,” she says.

It will be Catherine’s fi rst trip to Europe, an achievement she and her parents are proud of. She will join the other torchbearers in London, before being taken to the location where she will carry the fl ame. Catherine will run 300 metres with the Olympic Torch before passing it on to next runner... an inspiring prospect for a simple girl who started her “race for life” in the rugged terrain of Uganda’s Karamoja region.

Catherine Lometo is proud of her school - Nalinya Lwantale Girls Secondary School which has offered her tremendous possibilities to soar in academics and athletics.

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UNICEF/2011/ ROSE NAULA

Newsletter December 2011


For a programme offi cer in Kampala, visiting project sites is like “going back to school” - a school with wise teachers and inspiring subjects. It is when we see our work translated from the computer screen to real life that we appreciate the benefi ts of the gender equality programmes being realized at the grassroots.

To ease the pressure of multiple visits, UN organizations are teaming up with the national government, civil society organizations and the donors to increase the quality and value of joint monitoring and evaluation of projects.

In September 2011 United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Entity for the Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women (UN Women), Department For International Development, the Ministry of Education and Sports and the Girls’ Education Movement (GEM) visited four schools in Kyenjojo District, where the UN Joint Programme on Gender Equality is supporting the creation of clubs that help boys and girls drop outs, return to school.

“I was just at home, sitting, because I didn’t have uniform, but my two friends in the GEM club encouraged me and found me a

uniform,” said Beatrice Kasangaki. Beatrice initially thought that she would never return to school but thanks to the intervention of her schoolmates she did return to class.

The GEM clubs are run by the pupils themselves, with the supervision of a teacher selected by the group. With a lot of energy and invincible motivation, the pupils map their region to track where the children dropping out live. They then pay visits to the families of these children and engage in a dialogue to convince them to return to school. They make sanitary pads for menstruation emergencies.

The GEM clubs further offer support small economic

activities and use the profi ts to buy uniforms, books and pens for the children who have returned to school, since one of the reasons for dropping out is the lack of economic resources of the parents to buy these basic items for their children.

Sometimes, the drop out of a student is related to the fact that they did not pass their terminal examinations.

"I was in Primary Five when I failed my examination and I was told to repeat the class. I did not want to remain in the same class when my friends are in the next class so I decided to stay at home. Some girls visited me and said there are visitors who had come from school to the community to ask

Tracking Strides in Girls’ Education By UN Women and UNICEF, Maria Carolina M. Ferracini and Rosemary R-Rwanyange

girls to return to school. Due to their efforts, my school administration also encouraged me to return and I decided to comeback. Later, UNICEF gave me uniforms and books,” says Olive Kayesu with a smile on her face.

In 2011 in Kyenjojo District 196 boys and 172 girls returned to school. They are referred to as ‘GEM Champions,’ not only because they overcome many barriers to go back to school, but also because they are usually active in the clubs’ activities, and help many others tackle barriers such as early pregnancies, full time work in the tea plantations, long distances to school and failure to complete primary and secondary education.

What is powerful about GEM clubs is the determination of the students to work with their peers and fi nd solutions for themselves. “They bring their mates back, while learning how to work as a team, run economic activities, engage in participatory decision-making and reassure them that education can entitle every person to pursue their dreams,” says Fatuma Namukose, programme offi cer GEM Clubs and Chapters in Uganda. GEM is indeed, the ideal model of working together - delivering as one - on education and gender empowerment.

UNICEF’s Deputy Representative May Anyabolu, right, looks at a sample of toiletries reserved for girls attending school.

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UNWOMEN/2011/ CAROLINA FERRACINI



Under the UN Joint Programme on Gender Equality, the Government of Uganda in conjunction with the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) rolled out the fi rst ever post graduate diploma course, in Gender and Local Economic Development. The course is offered at the Makerere University School of Gender and Women Studies, under the auspices of the Third District Development Programme, housed under the Ministries of Local Government and that of Gender, Labour and Social Development.

The course aims at providing Local Government staff with requisite skills for institutionalizing the needed shift from socio-economic service delivery to equitable and sustainable Local Economic Development (LED). It also provides channels for exploring and promoting the strategic roles of women and men in incorporating LED into their daily lives, thereby shifting current planning and investment perceptions and practices at Local Government (LG) and community levels.

Josephine Chandiru, one of the pioneer 30 students said, “This course is a ground breaking initiative for Government. After a long time of concentrating on

Charting New Territory in Gender Equity in Grassroot Development By UNCDF and UN Women Jenifer B. Wakhungu and Assumpta I. Tibamwenda

gender mainstreaming processes, we now are able to explore the productive potentials of women and men, beyond their traditional gender roles.”

Over the last 30 years, Uganda has made signifi cant progress in promoting gender equity amongst its citizens using an extensive policy and programming framework. The formulation of the National Gender Policy (NGP) in 1997 and a revised Uganda Gender Policy (UGP) in 2007 was a response to the growing recognition of the immense gender inequalities in the various development sectors of the economy.

promotion of popular participation of local people in development planning and decision making process.

“I will now play a very key role in sensitizing the district leaders on gender mainstreaming and its importance to the development of the district,” said Miriam Nsubuga, a pioneer student who fi nds the course extremely practical and relevant to the district set up.

The course provides skills and knowledge for practical application of gender focused concepts and tools in planning, implementation and monitoring of policies and programmes at central and local levels. It also enables students to learn and apply gender analytical tools in development processes that strengthen partnerships between Local Government, private sector, civil society and the community to manage resources and stimulate the economy of defi ned locality.

Skills for planning, implementing and monitoring of LED are other areas the course will assist in developing capacity.

In its second year of implementation, the course promises to equip Local Government staff with a unique skills mix for tackling gender and the basic tenets of gender within a development context.

There was compelling evidence to show that, due to systematic socio-cultural practices of discrimination against women, there was a tendency for most sectoral development programmes not benefi ting women and men in an equitable manner. The effective implementation of the UGP relies heavily on the sector policies and more signifi cantly the Decentralization Policy.

The policy devolves powers and resources to sub-national governments. It empowers the local authorities to take increasing responsibilities for the delivery of services and

A community worker listens to a woman in a village. The LED Gender tools are vital for developing rural women.

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UNICEF/2010/PHOTOSHARE



The UN Peacebuilding Programme is comprised of three joint programmes and a coordination support project. It draws on the input of eight UN agencies and addresses issues that contribute to or may escalate conflict. It further fosters those actors and dynamics that promote peace. It is designed to support the Government’s priorities, particularly on the revitalization of the economy and addressing peacebuilding and reconciliation. Focus is put on strengthening human rights, protection systems, livelihoods and economic recovery.

PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT


Each year on the 21st of September people of the world come together to refl ect and celebrate peace on the International Day of Peace. This year, Ugandans celebrated the event in Gulu: a signifi cant step since this was the region under confl ict for over two decades during the skirmishes between the Lords Resistance Army and the Uganda Peoples Defense Forces.

The day’s theme was, ‘Make Your Voice Heard; Youth Must Engage Now’. Peace in Acholi is in the hearts of many people who are now focusing on rebuilding their lives and making the most of the national development plan’s rehabilitation and recovery of all sectors.

To symbolize this event, a three day peace caravan traversed the districts of Amuru, Nwoya and Gulu while singing songs of peace and passing out fl yers with messages of peace to the communities. A day before, a candle light procession took place to remember the souls lost and the hope for the future to come.

On the Peace Day a march procession took off from Gulu University through the streets of Gulu town and ending at the Kaunda Grounds – venue of the day’s celebration.

The day was graced by dignitaries from the

Offi ce of the Prime Minister led by the Chief Guest Hon. Musa Ecweru, the Minister of State for Relief and Disaster Preparedness. While a delegation from the United Nations was led by the Resident Coordinator, Mr. Theophane Nikyema.

District offi cials from the Acholi sub-region, religious leaders were also present to grace the day. Development partner’s in northern Uganda took the opportunity to showcase their activities through information sharing related to their peace activities in the region. It was evident that there is peace.

“At least now we can go about our daily business without fear,” said Okello-Okot*, a

shop owner on one of the main streets of Gulu town. The business is bristling with vigor as it even extends to Kampala based artists who travel to Gulu to perform to an enthusiastic crowd of youth, eager to enjoy a cosmopolitan touch of modern entertainment.

The people of Acholi Sub region and northern Uganda do acknowledge that peace has returned to the region. With the concerted effort of the Government of Uganda and UN agencies under the UN Peace Building Programme, there is increased food production across the districts both for subsistence use and also for sale in the local markets - the signs of vivid socio

economic recovery taking place.

This reality was a far-fetched dream during the times of confl ict, as people were enclosed in Internally Displaced People’s camps – people were unable to access their original agriculture land for food production and had to make do with ‘hiring’ small tiny plots for basic subsistence.

But today, peace and stability has further attracted investors in Acholi region, most supermarkets and hardware stores in Gulu District are also owned by the Asian and Kenyan Investors with a number of commercial banks to support the bustling transactions that comes with full blown businesses – another sign of the return of peace and development across the region.

Furthermore UN volunteers have played their role in the implementation of the Peace Building Recovery and Development Plan in the Acholi sub-region as fi eld coordination offi cers in the UN Area coordinator’s offi ces. They liaise with local governments, the Regional Offi ce of Prime Minister, Resident Development Partners, Civil Society members, and Representatives of UN in the seven districts of the Acholi sub-region.

*Not real surname.

International Peace Day 2011By United Nations Resident Coordinator’s Offi ce, (UNRCO) Gulu, Lillian Apio

The commemoration of the International Peace Day in 2011 emphasized the importance of youth involvement in peace building in northern Uganda.

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UNRCO/2011/ LILLIAN APIO



Mercy gave birth to her fi rst eleven children at home, in her village. All eleven babies died during or shortly after birth. When she started hearing rumours about the good care mothers received at the local health center, she decided to check on it herself and deliver her next baby there. “In the village, the knife they use to cut the umbilical cord is the same they use for cutting onions”, Mercy explains.

After her fi rst visit at the Panyangara Health Centre III, Mercy could testify about the good quality of services provided and has gone back since for regular antenatal care visits, deliveries, vaccination for herself and her children and, most recently, family planning. Mercy, 35 years old, is now the mother of four healthy children.

Every month, on average, 44 women like Mercy come to deliver at Panyangara Health Centre III, which is the highest number of deliveries of any health center in Kotido District. On top of that 85 women come for their fi rst antenatal care visit. The health centre remains understaffed, but its capacity has visibly improved in the last few years, and so has its reputation amongst women in Kotido.

Panyangara sub-county was identifi ed by

UN Agencies operating in Karamoja as a focus area because of its large population and its poor socio-economic indicators, with poverty levels reaching 78% and low latrine coverage levels at 3.7%. United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and World Food Programme (WFP) have collectively been supporting the Health Centre III for the past few years to ensure that quality maternal and child health services are provided to the large number of women that access the centre. UNFPA and WFP support to the centre is funded by the

UN Joint Programme on Population, which selected Kotido as one of its 15 focus districts in Uganda.

Jane, 30 years old and a mother of six, also delivered her last four babies at the health centre. What motivated her to deliver at the facility, she explains, were the good counseling services, which encourage men to participate in antenatal care, voluntary counseling and testing. Jane also appreciates the Baby Pack, provided through UNICEF support, which helps her and other young mothers to care for their babies immediately after delivery.

Catherine, 22 years

old, is a young mother of two who decided to get married after failing to fi nd a scholarship to continue her studies beyond primary school. She regularly visits the health centre because she likes learning how to care about herself and her children. Also thanks to counseling sessions and the food supplements provided by WFP to expecting and lactating mothers, she benefi ts. During an antenatal care visit Catherine also learnt about family planning. After delivery, she discussed her options with her husband and they agreed to wait at least three years before having another child to

UN Delivering Together to Mothers of KaramojaBy United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Ilaria Michelis

The Maternity Wing at Panyangara Health Centre III, Kotido, Karamoja sub-region. The demand for services have been increasing in the health centre.

To page 18

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UNFPA/2011/ ILARIA MICHELIS



ensure they have the means to support them and send them all to school.

Capacity building activities under UN support have targeted not only the health centre staff, but also the Village Health Teams of Panyangara, who are now an active presence in the communities. Village Health Teams provide treatment to children under the age of Five years for malaria, pneumonia and diarrhea, monitor nutrition levels, and promote hygiene, antenatal care and family planning. The UN is also giving support to the primary school, women’s groups and farming school in the sub-county.

Regina, a very outspoken widow and mother of four, believes the real challenge is now attracting people living far in the villages to the health centre. “Door to door mobilization is the best way to convince people in the manyatta (homesteads) to come forward for health services”. UN coordinated support to Panyangara Health Centre III ensures that thousands of other women in Kotido District can access quality maternal and child health services.

“Now when we go to the Health Centre – as Jane puts it – we are cared for.”

Design/Layout: Ijuka Agnes Barongo (United Nations Children’s Fund)Editorial Team: Michael Wangusa (RCO), Anna Marie Olsson (RCO), Anne Lydia Sekandi (UNICEF) and

Ijuka Agnes Barongo (UNICEF)

United Nations Communications Group

DELIVERING AS ONE FOR PROGRESS

Youth hold up a globe of the world. Their message is ‘United we stand to build a future of our world.’ The UN in Uganda’s work is to promote peace, human rights and development.

From page 17

UNICEF/2011/ IJUKA BARONGO

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un uganda newsletter december 2011

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