First Lady bids farewell to UNICEF'S outgoing country representative

EDUCATION|HEALTH|STUDY MATERIAL

The First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Mrs Janet Museveni, has bid farewell to Dr Doreen Mulenga, who has been UNICEF's representative in Uganda for close to three years. Mulenga is leaving the country at the end of August this year.

The outgoing UNICEF country representative, together with Rosa Malango, the UN resident coordinator, paid a courtesy call on the First Lady at State House Nakasero, on Tuesday.

The UN envoys and the First Lady discussed issues related to the programmes they have been involved in to support Uganda's COVID-19 response plan since the pandemic's onset in March this year.

Mrs Museveni thanked the UN agencies for supporting Uganda during the COVID-19 pandemic and specifically commended the partnership between UNICEF and the education ministry to ensure that learners access study materials during this time when schools are closed.

She said the education ministry is working hard to ensure that they send more study materials to cover all learners from Primary One to Senior Six. Mrs Museveni added that radios will also be given to every family, so that if schools are not opened, then the teachers can reach the children through radio and the home study programmes can go on for everybody.

The First Lady explained that the distribution of study materials was interrupted and delayed because the ministry thought that the schools were going to be re-opened, which has not happened to date.

She expresses her concern about the increasing cases of sexual abuse, forced marriages, teenage pregnancies and other related problems, saying currently, all the focus is on COVID-19 and nothing much is being done to address these issues in the communities.

Mrs Museveni said she has resolved to address the children themselves and talk to them about keeping safe instead of talking to their parents. She said this is because the outcry from the communities has been that children are getting abused and being forced into marriages while with their families and the parents are doing nothing.

She said: "I don't know what has happened, our society has completely broken down because children used to be safer in the villages since everybody knew everybody else. Children would not be abused without anyone knowing and saying something, especially the elderly people who were willing to talk about issues and to protect the children."

Mrs Museveni thanked Mulenga for her service to the people of Uganda and hoped she would carry good memories of her stay in the country.

Mulenga, who joined UNICEF in 1996, said she has enjoyed every single moment in Uganda since she took up her position in October 2017. She described it as one of her proudest moments in UNICEF.

"I feel that giving back to African children is why I joined the UN and it has really been fulfilling to see what we could do, especially during this COVID-19 period," she said.

Mulenga added that UNICEF, working with the education ministry to ensure that the children are getting learning materials and modules on TV, emphasises what a difference they can make even during difficult situations.

She attributed the increasing trend of violence against children in the homes to the fact that they are not in schools, which were providing a protective environment.

The envoys commended President Yoweri Museveni for his approach in managing the COVID-19 pandemic, which is guided by science. They said many African countries are looking to Uganda to learn from them.

Malango described Mulenga as an inspirational team player, who has also been incredible in terms of mobilising the UN and one of the people who is always ready to help solve problems.

She informed the First Lady that since the onset of COVID-19, the UN in Uganda reorganised and has supported the health ministry in testing, tracking, isolating, public awareness and call centres. She said they established four regional hubs in Mbarara, Arua, Gulu and Moroto, where the representatives of UN agencies, district leaders and the district COVID-19 task forces regularly meet to co-ordinate the response.

Malango also informed her that during a recent field monitoring visit to southwestern Uganda, the communities were asking for more learning materials for different age groups. She pointed out the good practice she witnessed in Isingiro of children being taught at the community level because some parents could not teach their children. Malango suggested that the education ministry could give some guidance and pilot this practice elsewhere.

The UN resident coordinator said the organisation has established a website and encouraged different youth groups engaged in agriculture, tree seedlings, liquid soap, sanitiser, textile and shoes production to utilise it so that they can be connected to people who can support them to become micro entrepreneurs. More than 300 youth have already embraced this.

Malango also said the new partnership agreement between the UN and Uganda to cover the period 2021 to 2025 and which is aligned to the National Development Plan is in its final stages.