By Kabuye Ronald
United Nations Association of Uganda UNAUganda, Media practitioners and civil society organisations have called for more domestic funding in the bid to accelerate the Sustainable Development Goals.
Speaking during the a side event of the civil society and media practitioners ahead of the 3rd Uganda SDGs conference hosted by UNAU at Forest cottages Naguru, under the theme: Achieving the SDGs: CSOs media round table, Linda Asaba the program’s manager at UNAUganda emphasized the need for domestic funding following the aid cut by the foreign funders due to a number of facts including the war in Ukraine and Gaza among others. ”we really need to look into domestic resources in order to cultivate the youth bulge.”
She also alluded to the high level of unemployment and the level of disguised unemployment saying that even when people are employed they are technically unemployed especially the young people. She didn’t spare the labour exported abroad especially in the Arab countries which she termed as another form of modern day slavery.
It’s upon the above that Linda Asaba urged the young people to mobilize each other and take steps as opposed to waiting for the aged and others to plan for them and take action.
On the same event, the president of UNAUganda George Muwanguzi launched the Youth Voluntary National Review Consultation Report 2024.
The report reveals that Uganda has a remarkably young population, with over 78% of its people under the age of 30. “The youth bulge presents opportunities to achieve the ambitious SDGs by tapping, through the energy, creativity, and passion of its youth.”
The report highlighted some of the areas where government is committed including: Government adopting an inclusive process for SDG ownership post-2030 Agenda. Integrated SDG in NDP III seamlessly up 90%. Establishing a National SDGs Coordination Framework in 2016, led by the Office of the Prime Minister. “The Multi-stakeholder Framework integrates SDG into mainstream for government coordination. It defines and delegates leadership roles and responsibilities for SDG and the Reforms since 2016 for continuous alignment to NDP II & III to enhance SDG delivery.”
Some of the challenges faced by the youths include: Youth unemployment which hovers around 64% in Uganda. According to UBOS, 2023, limited access to education with only 52% of young people in rural Uganda who complete secondary education. according to UNESCO,2023, lack of resources where by Ugandan youth lack access to resources for their initiatives and gender inequality where by high adolescent pregnancy rates disproportionately impact girls’ education, according to UN Women, 2024.
The report recommends youth empowerment asserting that it is a key to achieving the SDGs. Investing in youth since they possess the innovation, dedication, and energy to drive progress and thus Uganda can become a global leader in youth development by fostering an inclusive and supportive environment
It also calls for promotion of gender equality by Implementing targeted policies and initiatives to ensure young women and girls have equal access to opportunities.
Emmanuel Kirunda, the Secretary General of Uganda Journalists Association UJA and Charity Ahimbisibwe who represented the civil society organisations emphasized the importance of collaboration with the media in acceleration of the SDGs.
