3000 Girls in Kampala to benefit from Belgian Gov't assistance to UNICEF

3,000 vulnerable girls in Kampala will benefit from a financial contribution of 16 billion shillings from the Government of Belgium to UNICEF.  

The girls in and out of school,under UNICEF  “Girls Empowering Girls”  social protection programme  will receive support through mentorship, linkages to essential social services and a cash transfer to enable them to transition safely into adulthood.

The program is being implemented in partnership with 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 GirlsEmpoweringGirls (GEG) programme launched in 2019, is the first programme 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.

Adolescent girls living in urban areas are poverty stricken 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.

“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.