Remarks at National Commemoration of International Youth Day

The President of the Republic of Uganda, His Excellency Yoweri Kaguta Museveni,

The Vice President, Her Excellency Jessica Alupo,

The Minister of Gender, Labour and Social, Honourable Betty Amongi Ongom,

The Minister of State for Youth and Sports Affairs, Honourable Sarah Nyirabashitsi  Mateke,

Cabinet Ministers and Deputy Ministers Present here today,

Senior Government Officials,

Religious and Cultural Leaders,

Cooperating Partners,

Heads of Agencies and Colleagues from the UN Agencies,

Civil Society Organisations,

Young People present Here,

Members of the press,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am delighted to join you today at this significant event to commemorate the International Youth Day, under the Global theme “Green Skills for Youth: Towards a Sustainable World”. I will be making these remarks on behalf of the UN system in Uganda.

Your Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen,

On behalf of the UN system and collaborating agencies supporting youth focused programmes in Uganda, I wish to commend the Government of the Republic of Uganda, as well as the people of Uganda for the continued efforts to secure the future potentials of adolescents and young people through enabling policies and programmes.

The 12th of August was first designated as International Youth Day by the UN General Assembly in 1999 and ever since, Uganda, has continued to commemorate the annual celebrations in recognition of the country’s youthful population, who are indispensable partners in development. The commemoration has also continued to serve as an opportunity to educate the public on issues of concern, to mobilize political will and resources to address global problems, and to celebrate and reinforce achievements of humanity. This year, we are celebrating it a week later in Uganda.

In his message for International Youth Day, the UN Secretary-General Mr. Antonio Guterres notes that “across all of today’s challenges, young people are calling for bold and accelerated action, standing in solidarity with the most vulnerable, and designing solutions to ensure social, economic and climate justice, and peace and prosperity for all. He goes on to say that this year’s Global theme “Green skills for youth; towards a sustainable world” reminds us of the importance of ensuring young people gain and apply skills in the burgeoning green economy. From innovative sustainable technologies and renewable energy to revolutions in transportation systems and industrial activity, young people must be equipped with skills and knowledge to shape a cleaner, greener, more climate resilient future. Humanity depends on the boundless energy, ideas and contributions of youth everywhere. He concludes by saying that today and every day, let us support and stand with young people to make their own choices about their lives and in shaping a just and sustainable world, for people and planet.

Your Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Our national theme this year, `Accelerating Recovery from COVID-19 and full implementation of the 2030 agenda; the role of youth` is extremely relevant in today’s world of 1.9 billion young people, most of whom live in developing countries. Half of the people on our planet are 30 or younger, and this is expected to reach 57% by the end of 2030. In Uganda, this number is even higher at 76 %. This young population means that there is a potential population momentum for future economic growth once we invest intentionally in critical sectors such as health, education and employment, enabling the country to reap a demographic dividend. This makes young people crucial agents in the achievement of Uganda’s development goals and Vision 2040.  

The COVID-19 pandemic had dire effects on the world, but its effects on youth were unequivocal. A ‘Global survey on Youth and COVID-19’, conducted by ILO in 2020, revealed that the pandemic not only led to increased rates of unemployment among youth aged 15 to 24 years, but also reduced the rates of working hours by 23%, even among those who were employed.

In Uganda, during COVID-19 pandemic, adolescent girls were deprived of the social protection that school offers and were exposed to increased risks of sexual violence, exploitation and abuse, child marriages, and teenage pregnancies. Analysis of data from the District Health Information System showed that there was a 17 percent spike in teenage pregnancies during the school closure period. Furthermore, according to the Ministry of Health HIV estimates in 2022, 70% of new HIV infections among young people were found in adolescent girls.

In addition to the effects of COVID -19, Young people today continue to be disproportionately impacted by the multifaceted crises facing our world including the climate crisis.     

Given the disproportionate impact of their suffering during the COVID-19 pandemic, young people must be at the forefront of planning for a post-COVID-19 future and what better way than to engage them in the emerging issues such as green energy to create employment while also combating climate change. Their vision and courage are more vital than ever. They are the ones that will inherit all the repercussions of decisions made today, yet they continue to face many structural, legal and financial barriers – as well as lingering stereotypes.  These seriously hinder their meaningful participation in national development. We can do better!

Your Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen,

We commend your government for its leadership and support towards youth through various government programmes and initiatives in collaboration with partners. These will need to be scaled up to reach those left furthest behind. Youth are the resource and backbone on which the country must rely on to advance sustainable development and to generate innovative solutions that will help the country achieve its development goals and reap the demographic dividend.

Your Excellency,

The United Nations system in Uganda, through the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2021– 2025, supports several innovations that support youth in contributing to the acceleration of recovery from COVID-19 and achieving the 2030 Agenda.

Permit me to highlight one primary initiative:

I would like to applaud a new partnership that has been forged between 13 UN agencies namely: (FAO, ILO, IOM, UNAIDS, UNCDF, UNDP, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNODC, UN Women and WHO), with the Ministry of Gender, Labor and Social Development as lead Ministry, and the National Youth Council, resulting in the UN Adolescent and Youth Joint Programme that will   be launched today.

This Joint Programme is broadly aligned to the Global UN Youth Strategy and the national frameworks and policies and offers an opportunity for the Government of Uganda and the UN to accelerate efforts towards addressing the barriers affecting youth, hindering them from reaching their full potential. The focus areas for the Programme are health, including sexual and reproductive health; inclusive quality education; skills and employment opportunities; climate action; and peace and security. The programme is costed at 22 million dollars and will cover 8 districts across 4 regions of Uganda for the 2023-2025 period in its 1st phase. The initiative will be rolled out to other districts as additional resources are mobilized.

I would like to call on all development actors to join us in building the capacities of youth and creating space for their engagement to help realize the Sustainable Development Goals as key stakeholders and change agents nationally, as well as globally.  There is no doubt that if we are to have any hope of realizing our goals for the planet, we must begin to focus on youth. This is backed up by empirical evidence, as study after study has shown that investing in the needs of youth — for education, for jobs, for health care, for information — is the single best way to bring benefits to society.

Your Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen,

In closing, on behalf of the United Nations system, I would like to re-iterate the support of collaborating UN agencies under the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2021-2025, and pledge to sustain our concerted support to government, civil society and the young people to ensure our shared vision is achieved, especially through the UN Joint Programme on Adolescents and Youth that we will be launching today.

Together, we can ensure that the 2030 agenda and Uganda’s vision 2040 promote the human rights, health and well-being of the largest generation of young people in history.

Thank you.