Harness Uganda's full potential by investing in its girls

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By Patricia Mahoney

The United States is proud to celebrate the International Day of the Girl with our partners in Uganda and globally. 

October 11 is a day to recognize girls’ rights and build a global commitment to end stereotypes, discrimination, violence, and economic disparities that disproportionately affect girls.

I have lived in Uganda for more than two years. During this time, I’ve watched my own daughter grow up and study in Kampala. It was a wonderful experience for her, but I know that many Ugandan girls don’t have the same opportunities. That realization drives me to work even harder with our Ugandan partners to address the needs and challenges of girls across this country. Ugandan prosperity simply will not grow unless every girl can enjoy the same kind of opportunities that my daughter did.

That is the goal.  How close are we? In Uganda, 30% of girls aged 6-15 drop out of school due to early marriage. One in every four teenage girls gets pregnant.  HIV infection rates are three times higher among girls aged 15-19 than boys from the same age group.

Why is this important?  Do I only care because I used to be a girl and I know how important education was in changing my life and ensuring a financially stable future for my children and me?  In part, but this isn’t just about my feelings or personal experience. 

It’s also about data.  The evidence is clear: when girls thrive, nations thrive.  Communities that give their daughters the same opportunities as their sons are more peaceful, more prosperous, more developed, and more likely to succeed. That is true in America, and it’s true in Uganda.

Investing in girls is a relatively small investment that pays substantial dividends for everyone. For example, a child born to a mother who can read is 50% more likely to survive past the age of 5.

An extra year of primary school ultimately boosts females’ earning power by as much as 20%, while an extra year of secondary school raises female wages by 15-25%.  When 10% more girls go to school, a country’s GDP on average increases by 3%. Women and girls are key to maintaining healthy families, since they are 50% more likely than men to access health services – both for themselves and on behalf of their families.

The United States has a number of partnerships with governments, the private sector, and civil society to ensure that girls have opportunities to succeed and contribute to their communities. President Obama’s Let Girls Learn initiative addresses the range of challenges preventing adolescent girls from attending and completing school.

The U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) will invest nearly half a billion dollars in ten African countries, including Uganda, to support an AIDS-free future for adolescent girls and young women.  Our Safe Schools program works with teachers, students, and parents to eliminate gender-based violence in schools and make them safer for girls.

In Uganda, the U.S. is working with government and civil society to launch the National Action Plan for Child Well-Being later this month.  Our shared goal is to improve child well-being in ten areas, including reducing teen pregnancies, child marriages, and gender-based violence, while increasing the retention rate of girls through secondary school.

I know from my own life that being a girl in this world – even in the United States – can be difficult. Let’s not make it harder for girls by limiting their choices and chances to grow, to thrive, and to survive.

Let girls learn.  Let girls thrive.  Let’s invest in Uganda’s 9.5 million girls to harness this country’s full potential. Let’s give girls the chance to contribute to their societies and build brighter futures for themselves, their families, and Uganda.

The writer is Deputy Chief of Mission US Embassy Kampala