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KABALE - President Yoweri Museveni on Friday launched the $22m (about sh82b) UN’s joint adolescent and youth programme in Kabale district.

This was during the national commemoration of the International Youth Day under the theme: “Accelerating Recovery from COVID-19 and full implementation of the 2030 agenda; the role of youth.”

This Day is commemorated every year on August 12 to bring youth issues to the attention of the international community and celebrate their potential as partners in today’s global society.

Michael Wangusa, the communication officer at the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator in Kampala, said the first phase of this programme will cover eight districts across the four regions of Uganda from 2023 to 2025.

President Yoweri Museveni during the national commemoration of the International Youth Day in Kabele district. (All Photos by Eddie Ssejjoba)

“The initiative will be rolled out to other districts as additional resources are mobilized,” he said in a statement he released shortly after the launch.

He also said the programme will be implemented by 13 UN agencies which include the Food and Agriculture Organization, International Labour Organization, International Organization for Migration, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the United Nations Population Fund.

Others are the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Children's Fund, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the World Health Organization UN Women with Uganda’s Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development as lead Ministry, and the National Youth Council.

Immense potential 

The UN says Uganda’s significant youth population, comprising 76% under 30 years old, holds immense potential for development.

This Day is commemorated every year on August 12 to bring youth issues to the attention of the international community and celebrate their potential as partners in today’s global society.

It says proper investments in education, health, and protection can harness this potential, while neglect can leave them vulnerable, impacting their well-being.

“Uganda's adolescents and youth already face sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) challenges, which worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic that led to disrupted education, interruptions in access to SRHR services and information, increased poverty, food insecurity, exposure to violence, abuse and exploitation,” Wangusa’s statement said.

The statement also said it is crucial to capitalise on the potential of young Ugandans and to involve them in national and subnational planning and policy development from a demographic dividend, human rights and results-based perspectives for the nation's COVID-19 recovery.

“Their unique experiences, views and ideas can contribute to the national and international development goals,” it added.