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The government of the United Kingdom (UK) has committed an extra £18m (about sh86.8b) funding to help Uganda and 69 other developing countries combat gender-based violence (GBV).

This is contained in a press statement that Tina Wamala, the communications officer at the British High Commission in Kampala, issued on Thursday, November 30, 2023.

It says this new package of support over four years marks the 16 Days of Activism against GBV, an annual international campaign, which kicked off on Saturday, November 25 under the theme: Ending Violence Against Women is Possible, but only if We Act Together, Now.

"The UK marks these 16 days with renewed efforts to work with partners to prevent violence and empower women and girls around the world," the statement says.

Women organisations

The extra funds are for grassroots women’s rights organisations across the 70 countries that are on the frontline of tackling GBV in communities, focusing on the most marginalised.

According to the statement, this (extra funding) is part of the UK’s biggest-ever funding boost to the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women, which builds on the success of the UK’s nine-year partnership and support of £25.5m from 2014 to 2023.

“Funding will improve access to services, including legal aid, shelters, and health care for survivors, support more effective legislation, and help to shift harmful attitudes and behaviour to prevent violence before it starts,” it says.

Support to rights organisations

The UK also said the first round of successful grantees under the What Works to Prevent Violence: Impact at Scale programme will initially support eight women’s rights organisations in Malawi, India, Pakistan, Somalia, Eswatini, Uganda, and Madagascar to implement innovative, locally-led approaches to drive down rates of violence in homes, schools, universities, and workplaces.

The UK Government has committed over £60m to preventing and responding to conflict-related sexual violence around the world since it launched the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative in 2012.

It notes that at the halfway point of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, no country is on track to eliminate violence against women and girls by 2030.

“Despite the scale of the problem, UK-funded evidence shows that violence is preventable and can be reduced by 50% by focusing on the most effective approaches,” it says.

The 2016 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey showed that up to 22% of women aged 15 to 49 in the country had experienced some form of sexual violence.

The report also indicated that annually, 13% of women aged 15 to 49 report experiencing sexual violence. This translates to more than one million women being exposed to sexual violence every year in Uganda.