Aid on Spreadsheets

UN Women Uganda 2016-2018 - UN Women Uganda 2016-2018 new strategy

The Government of Uganda has made significant progress in developing legal frameworks, policies and programmes which respect, protect and promote human rights and empowerment of women and girls. Progress, however, often remains at the policy level with implementation on the ground lacking behind due to inadequate capacity or priority in government institutions. As a result, women in Uganda continue to be marginalized and experience discrimination in in all spheres of life. Women’s political participation and representation has progressed with women in Parliament increasing from 18% in 2000 to 35% in 2012; mainly owing to the Affirmative Action Policy. Women have also gained ground in Cabinet and Local Councils, yet party leadership and structures remain heavily male-dominated and patriarchal. Higher illiteracy and poverty levels among women compared to men mean that women are unable to compete on a level playing field in the highly monetized electoral process. Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) constitutes another major obstacle to gender equality as well as to more overall development goals. Women have poor access to reproductive resources, and especially access to land and land tenure are areas of discrimination. Consequently, women struggle to access financial services including loans due to lack of collateral. Although 76% of Ugandan women are active in the labor market, women tend to concentrate in feminized occupations, clustering in low-value chains, part-time or informal employment. Violence against women and girls (VAWG) remains another main obstacle to the empowerment of women with the prevalence and social acceptance of VAWG consistently high. In addition, the link between WEE and VAWG is becoming increasingly apparent in Uganda. A great part of the violence reported at household level is economically motivated, with peaks around harvest periods. Finally, gender mainstreaming in peace building and humanitarian action is inadequate and often poorly coordinated. At the local level, heightened conflict over land in the Acholi region is exacerbated by discovery of oil in the Albertine region, and at the regional level, long-lasting conflicts in neighboring countries cause a continuing refugee influx to the northern and western parts of Uganda. Insecurity and humanitarian situations affect women and girls disproportionally, yet an effective coordination of gender issues in the security and humanitarian response is yet to be established. In response to the above situation analysis, the development intervention will provide core support to UN Women Uganda to implement the first three years (2016-2018) of its Strategic Note 2016-2020 with a total contribution of 66.5 M SEK (22 % of the total 5 year Strategic Note budget, 36% of the budget for the three years covered by the Agreement). UN Women established its country office in Uganda in 2010 (with a head office in Kampala and with district offices in Gulu and Moroto), and during her time of operation in the country, UN Women has positioned herself as a key actor for gender equality and women’s empowerment. With the support from Sweden, UN Women will be able to roll out a comprehensive country program which is expected to have a significant catalytic effect on gender issues in the country. In 2018, Sweden plans to initiate a dialogue with UN Women about the possibility to extend the support to cover the remaining two years of the 2016-2020 Strategic Note, depending on the experiences and results achieved during the first three years of support. UN Women Uganda developed its Strategic Note 2016-2020 through an inclusive and consultative process ensuring high levels of stakeholder buy-in and increasing sustainability. The overall goal of the Strategic Note is to empower women to lead, participate in, influence and contribute to national development in Uganda. In line with UN Women’s Global Strategic Plan, the development intervention targets

The overall aim of the proposed development intervention is that “Women are empowered to lead, participate in, influence and contribute to national development.”To achieve this aim, the development intervention defines six result areas: 1) Women lead and participate in decision making at all levels. 2) Women, especially the poorest and most excluded, are economically empowered and benefit from development. 3) Women and girls live a life free from violence. 4) Peace and security and humanitarian action are shaped by women leadership and participation. 5) Governance and national planning fully reflect accountability for gender equality commitments and priorities. 6) Normative and policy framework for gender equality and women's empowerment strengthened and implemented.

Project ID

SE-0-SE-6-5118009902-UGA-15170

Activity status

2 - Implementation

Aid type

B03 - Contributions to specific-purpose programmes and funds managed by international organisations (multilateral, INGO)

% to Uganda

100.00

Organisations

Funding

Sweden

Extending

Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency

Accountable

UNW/UNITED NATIONS WOMEN

Implementing

United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women

CRS code	%
Women’s equality organisations and institutions (15170)	100.0