UN Resident Coordinator Remarks at the Launch of the Education Plus Initiative

Honourable First Lady and Minister for Education and Sports

Honourable Ministers

Your Excellencies Ambassadors and Development Partners

The visiting delegations from Eswatini and Namibia

Representatives of Civil Society and UN Colleagues

Religious Leaders with us today

Our host Mengo Secondary School especially the students

All invited Guests

All protocols observed

On behalf of the United Nations System in Uganda I am pleased to participate in the launch of the Education Plus Initiative.

Uganda has a solid track record in leading and providing innovations that have furthered our aspirations in for the education sector. The biggest of course were Universal Primary Education and Universal Secondary Education, which really played a key role in bringing more children into school and positively impacted the gender parity gap.

Since then a number of other Government innovations have furthered education in Uganda. Recently however, we have been facing new challenges. And the biggest one has been the 2+ consecutive years of ‘annus horibilis’ we have all lived through the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. And we have to find  renewed energies, creativity and actions – that mirror the bold actions the Government of Uganda showed in the past – to confront the challenges of today.

We aim for Education Plus to be a high-profile, high-level political advocacy drive to accelerate actions and investments among adolescent girls, young women, and boys as agents of change to prevent HIV, reduce teenage pregnancy, early marriages, gender-based violence with access to secondary school education as an entry point.

The theme for today’s launch is ‘Repositioning Education Plus within the HIV/AIDS response at the center of a resilient, sustainable, integrated, and person-centered approach to health and tackling gender inequalities in Uganda’.

The education, health and empowerment of Uganda’s girls is the foundation for the fulfilment of the Government’s vision of transforming Uganda to a modern and prosperous country by 2040 and easily a little bit more that 50% if we consider the social role of  women in our societies.

Girls’ secondary education experience in Uganda is characterized by lower access, higher dropout, and lower transition rates compared to boys. About 25 percent of girls drop out of school because of pregnancy and the District Health Information  System 2 (DHIS-2) data revealed that in 2021, districts like Namisindwa in Bugisu Region; Amudat in Karamoja Region and Kitagwenda in Tooro/Rwenzori Region registered over 50 percent increases in teenage pregnancy numbers. Completion rates for Senior 4 boys stood at 40 percent, compared to 36 percent for girls. The disparity widens at the transition point to Senior 5 with 34 percent of boys and only 24 percent of girls transitioning to upper secondary and to be frank, while the gap concerns us, the transition rate for boys is also far from fantastic. At this time the problem of data is even more crucial. I know we are there has been a gap in real time data, since 2017 and we look forward to the EMIS coming online again.

The main reasons for a girl dropping out of secondary school is pregnancy, marriage, and cost of schooling. The share of women who married before the age of 18, was 43 percent according to the latest Demographic and Health Survey (2016). A more recent study supported by UNICEF indicated that child marriage in Uganda is even more pervasive with 20 percent of girls in the country marrying between the ages of 15 and 19 years old. One in seven women aged 18-22 have their first child before the age of 18. The probability of completing secondary education for a woman aged 25-34 who married after 18 is 12.9 points higher than for women who married earlier.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Evidence suggests that continued schooling delays marriage when appropriate policies are implemented by schools to prevent early marriage and pregnancy. These should include Violence Against Children and Gender-Based Violence prevention interventions that contribute to creating a safe school environment that protect girls from the risk of falling victim to sexual violence. Additionally, distance to lower secondary schools for young adolescents, especially girls from poor families, tends to raise opportunity costs for families and physical risks.

We know that increasing access to lower secondary schools, reducing cost of education for poor households and providing incentives for girls to stay in school, creates a positive effect on education access and attainment.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Education Plus Initiative advocacy was endorsed and co-led by five UN agencies, namely, UNAIDS, UNESCO UNFPA, UNICEF and UN Women. The aim is to urgently respond to and address the alarming numbers of Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AGYW) acquiring HIV and dying of AIDS, reduce teenage pregnancies, increase economic empowerment and improve transition to secondary education.

Through the Education Plus Initiative, the UN advocates for sustainable financing and investments for secondary education to increase enrolment, retention and completion of secondary education cycle by girls and ending discriminatory policies, laws and practices that deny girls their right to education and entrench inequalities.

The initiative further commits to leverage secondary schools as access points to deliver a comprehensive package of health, Gender-Based Sexual Violence (GBSV) response, menstrual health management, water, sanitation and hygiene services, food security and nutrition alongside social protection measures including school to work transitions and young women’s economic empowerment.

This initiative is anchored in mobilizing Government and political leadership as key agents to transforming policies, practices and investments in secondary school education.

Education Plus further advocates for the empowerment of adolescent girls, young women and boys as partners and champions of change, to complete secondary school education and secure healthy, fulfilling, and reproductive lives free from gender discrimination, violence and HIV and AIDS. 

Through this initiative, the UN aims to create and build stronger alliances and partnerships with Government, Education Development partners, Civil society, young women and youth networks, Religious and Cultural Leaders, Private Sector and all relevant stakeholders for the advancement of education, health and economic rights of adolescent girls and boys in Uganda.

The UN family looks forward to the launch of the Education Plus Initiative as a sign of recommitment by government to achieve the desires of this initiative.  On behalf of UN Family, I reiterate our commitment to support the Government and people of Uganda – especially the girls - through the implementation of our joint UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2021-2025.  Through implementing the Cooperation Framework, we will ensure that all initiatives by the UN family in Uganda that promote gender equality, including the Spotlight Initiative to end violence against women and girls, are well coordinated and complement each other.

Honorable Minister and First Lady,

Today’s launch will be followed-up by regional engagements on levels of teenage pregnancies with emphasis on regions that reported the highest levels of teenage pregnancies. Unsurprisingly, they are also some of the most vulnerable parts of the country. I count on your leadership for an increased investment where possible through the Education budget.

Together, let us all do our part to ensure that girls are safe, healthy, complete secondary education and acquire skilling opportunities – allowing them to play their full part to design and secure our common future.

Thank you for your kind attention.