Youth minister sounds alarm on drugs, online exploitation

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Uganda risks sliding into a severe social and economic crisis if it fails to urgently address the growing number of adolescents outside the education system, youth and children affairs state minister Balaam Barugahara has warned.

Barugahara says the country is “sitting on a demographic time bomb,” pointing to an estimated three million young people who are out of school and increasingly exposed to risks such as substance abuse, early pregnancy and online exploitation.

He was speaking at the launch of the National Guidelines on Health Education and Life Skills for Out-of-School Adolescents and Youth at Kabira Country Club in Kampala city on April 29, 2026.

The new policy framework is designed to expand sexual and reproductive health education and life skills training beyond formal school settings.

While welcoming the guidelines, Barugahara cautioned against what he described as a recurring tendency to celebrate policy launches without ensuring implementation.

“We should stop launching policies and leaving them on paper. The real work begins now,” he said.

He stressed that the success of the framework would depend on its rollout at community level, reaching adolescents in markets, villages, religious institutions, and informal workspaces.

TikTok, drugs shaping new youth risks

Barugahara raised concern over what he described as emerging threats to young people, particularly those driven by digital platforms and substance abuse.

He said children as young as ten are accessing platforms such as TikTok, where they are exposed to content that can distort self-image and normalise risky behaviour.

“This exposure is contributing to mental health challenges, including body image pressures and emerging eating disorders,” he said.

On substance abuse, the state minister warned that rising alcohol and drug use is pushing some young people into criminal behaviour.

“Many of these young people are not criminals by nature. They are being pushed into crime by addiction and substance dependence,” he said.

With Uganda’s population estimated to be more than 73 per cent below the age of 30, Barugahara said existing school-based interventions are failing to reach a large segment of adolescents.

Barugahara also criticised the misuse of funds under government poverty alleviation programmes, including the Parish Development Model (PDM), saying some beneficiaries divert resources intended for income generation into unproductive uses such as early marriage arrangements.

He said the new guidelines will integrate financial literacy alongside reproductive health education to strengthen youth decision-making and economic resilience.

'A long journey with potholes'

Deputy head of mission at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Bouwe-Jan Smeding said the guidelines mark an important milestone after a long and challenging process.

“I’m really delighted to be here today at this launch,” Smeding said.

“Although some people say it is timely, it is indeed a bit overdue. It has been a long journey, with quite some potholes, but in the end these guidelines have seen the light—and that is a good thing.”

He said the framework provides a structured and context-specific approach for reaching young people outside formal education.

“Having something on paper that is specific to the Ugandan situation is important,” he said.

'Leaving no young person behind'

UNFPA representative Kristine Blckhus said the intervention is critical given the large number of young people outside formal education and training systems.

“More than half of adolescents and young people in Uganda today are not in some form of education, training, or employment,” she said.

She warned that this group is highly vulnerable to misinformation, particularly on sensitive health issues.

“They are going to get information one way or the other,” she said. “This is our way of ensuring that the information they get is good and of high quality.”

SRHR advocates call for action beyond policy

Olgah Daphynne Namukuza, the country director of the SRHR Alliance Uganda, said improving youth sexual and reproductive health requires both empowerment and systemic reform.

She stressed that progress depends on coordinated action across government, civil society, and communities.

Patience Namanya, who led the project at the gender ministry, said the guidelines are intended as a “central tool” to empower young people, especially those outside the formal education system.

She pointed to alarming cases of teenage pregnancy, including girls below 19, and instances involving children as young as 10.

“These are realities. These are Ugandan realities,” she said.

Namanya also cited rising substance use among adolescents and warned that fragmented information and policy gaps have left out-of-school youth underserved.

She said the new framework aims to promote informed decision-making, resilience, self-reliance, and positive behaviour.