Uganda

Uganda hosts over 1.9million refugees, making it Africa’s largest refugee-hosting country. In Palabek Refugee Settlement alone 90,000 refugees, of whom 83% women and children, face challenges in accessing education and protection services. Today, Save the Children is launching “Strengthening education and child protection services for refugee children in Palabek Settlement, Northern Uganda”, a two-year project in partnership with a Japanese clothing brand UNIQLO/Fast Retailing Co., Ltd. The project is supported through UNIQLO’s PEACE FOR ALL global campaign.

Save the Children signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Uganda Chamber of Energy and Minerals in order to strengthen child protection within Uganda’s fast-growing mineral sector. The signing took place in October during the 14th Annual Mineral Wealth Conference held at Serena Kampala.

Save the Children Uganda was recognized and appreciated by the Ministry of Health and the Committee of Experts on the National Safe Motherhood Committee for its outstanding contribution to strengthening the policy environment, planning, and monitoring and evaluation of Adolescent Health and School Health programmes. This recognition further highlighted our role in supporting the implementation of the National Adolescent Health Costed Implementation Plan (ADH CIP) and in building the coordination capacity of districts heavily burdened by teenage pregnancy.

The Food Security and Nutrition project funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Japan commissioned a new mini-irrigation scheme in Tapac Parish, valued at $143,700, marks a transformative moment for local farmers. For communities long challenged by unpredictable weather and water scarcity, this scheme provides a reliable water source, enabling year-round cultivation, improved yields, and a stronger defense against climate shocks. Simultaneously, the inauguration of a new Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) Corner at Kalemungole Health Centre II provides a vital resource for mothers and caregivers, offering the knowledge and tools necessary to ensure proper nutrition during a child’s critical first 1,000 days.

1. What inspired you to join this organization 10 years ago?Save the Children was an employer of choice. Many colleagues in the NGO I was working with were moving to Save the Children. When I saw an opportunity that resonated with where I wanted to go next in my career, I did not hesitate to apply.

Funded by Save the Children Korea and implemented by Save the Children Uganda, the Karamoja GOATS project works to improve nutrition and livelihoods for vulnerable households in Moroto District. Launched in March 2021 and initially rolled out in Rupa and Tapac sub-counties, the project empowers women by providing goats and vegetable seeds, directly combating malnutrition. The first phase concluded in June 2024, successfully addressing immediate nutritional needs while laying the groundwork for long-term food security. Now in its second phase, the project is strengthening its impact and expanding support to reach more households.

Patricia is a 15-year-old girl who is using knowledge attained from the safe family training at her school to influence her parents to take her sister back to disabilities back to school. Her sister had dropped out of school due to the negative attitude of her parents towards children with disabilities

Maureen is a 13-year-old pupil in Primary 6 in Moroto Municipal Council Primary School. She lives with her mother, and 3 siblings in Kakoliye Close 2 village, South Division subcounty, Moroto Municipality.

Save the Children, through its School Health and Nutrition Project, is driving an innovative waste management solution in Wakiso schools by transforming waste plastic bottles into waste disposal bins. This innovation is being implemented in 82 schools across the district, empowering learners and health club patrons to actively participate in these sustainable waste management practices.

The world is recognising the impact of local initiatives’ said one of our local partners, having been involved in an innovative approach to localisation in Education Cannot Wait’s Multi-Year Resilience Programme II in Uganda (MYRP II). As a result of purposefully developing more equitable avenues for funding, 29% of ECW’s investment to Save the Children is now being implemented through local and national NGOs (L/NNGOs). This is a large increase on the MYRP I and more than the global target set by the Grand Bargain. We encourage others to take inspiration from this approach, so that we can drive progress towards our collective commitments to reallocate power, influence and resources more directly to communities.