Gender for Development Uganda
Cash Plus for Adolescent Girls in Lower Secondary
Highlights
Despite progress, Uganda faces major challenges in providing accessible basic education to children and adolescents, with low transition and retention rates to secondary levels as fundamental challenges to be addressed, particularly among girls. Several barriers to education persist but financial barriers remain the main reason cited for both non-attendance and dropping out of school. Families struggle to pay for the costs associated with education, such as school fees, uniforms, scholastic materials, school meals, and other related expenses, like building or development funds. Beyond being particularly affected by poverty, girls face a series of additional barriers to education, such as barriers linked to community gender norms, barriers linked to reproductive biology, barriers that limit physical access to school, among others.
In response to these challenges the European Union in 2023 launched the Gender for Development Uganda (G4DU) Programme. This multi-agency initiative aims to promote the education of adolescent girls, reduce gender-based violence, and advance sexual and reproductive health. The G4DU is co-financed by the European Union, Germany, and Belgium, and implemented through a partnership that includes UNICEF, KfW, Enabel, and the Spotlight Initiative, all working together to achieve these critical objectives.
