Busoga King Nadiope, UN agencies delegation discuss efforts to end teenage pregnancies

 
BUSOGA - Busoga king (Kyabazinga) William Gabula Nadiope IV has hosted a UN delegation at the Sheraton Kampala Hotel. 

The delegation had earlier paid a courtesy visit in his Kingdom and met with the Kingdom’s second deputy prime minister Osman Noor Ahmed, the royal family and other Kingdom officials, plus holding a dialogue with school-going children on how to end teenage pregnancies, at the Kingdom headquarters.

At the September 11, 2025, Sheraton Kampala dinner, Nadiope, accompanied by his brothers Arnold Nadiope and Wilson Nadiope, met with UNFPA deputy director in charge of East and Southern Africa, Won Young Hong and UNFPA country representative Gift Malunga. Malunga assured the Kyabazinga that as UN participating agencies, they look forward to engaging with him in the fight to end teenage pregnancies in Busoga region and the rest of the country.

“As UNFPA, WHO, UNICEF and UNAIDS, we will put our efforts together to overcome this, and I am thankful to the government of Sweden for giving us this funding. I am also thankful to the Kyabazinga that he agreed to champion the fight against teenage pregnancies,” Malunga said.

Murkus Larsson, a Programme Specialist of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) at the Swedish Embassy, said they will continue cementing a partnership with Busoga Kingdom to implement programmes of SRHR in Busoga and Uganda at large, since the programme is for East and Southern Africa.

A vision to reduce teenage pregnancies

Hong recalled how her late grandmother married at 16 years between the 1930s and 1940s, had seven children, and her mother was one of them.  She further revealed that one out of four girls in Busoga Kingdom still marry or become mothers before the age of 18 years.

“I am happy that you have an ambitious vision to reduce teenage pregnancy from 28% to 18% by 2030 in your Kingdom—there will be certain programmes that we will bring or share with you to operationalize and make sure you implement your vision within your Kingdom’s administration and investment,” Hong said adding that they are committed assisting the Kyabazinga to go for exchange visits to other countries.

She further commended the Kyabazinga for his vision to invest in youth to get education, fight Gender Based Violence and to make sure that everyone lives in peace and prosperity in his Kingdom.

Nadiope told the delegation that he is grateful for the impactful work in Busoga and 'working with us. We shall be grateful to continue working with you in the different Kingdom programmes, including yours,” Kyabazinga said.

He informed the officials that he instructed Kyabazinga Initiatives, which is a development vehicle under his office, to invest deeply in understanding the real causes behind the bad statistics in terms of development that we have as a sub-region through engaging with various stakeholders.

Nadiope said poverty, weak family and community actions, among other issues, are responsible for the high teenage pregnancies in the region, which need to be challenged.

"By working with you, together we shall be in position to mitigate these kinds of vices, and as the UN’s National Goodwill Ambassador for engaging men and boys to end teenage pregnancies, my vision is to keep children in school because I am one of the people who advocate for education.”

The Kyabanzinga promised to increase sexual reproductive awareness in various communities and lay emphasis on family and community action through strengthening and using the 11 Kyabazinga village Empango Committees that are already being set up.

He pledged that as Busoga Kingdom, he is ready to continue working with various UN Agencies and further strengthen their relationship and of course, to fight and mitigate the early teenage pregnancies that have become one of the main factors that are retarding Busoga’s development.