Uganda

WPHF is financing local civil society organizations and women activists in Uganda working to end sexual and gender-based violence, protect women’s rights, advance gender equality, and respond to COVID-19 in conflict and crisis settings.

Our Work

In Uganda, the WPHF and Spotlight Initiative partnership is channeling urgently-needed financing to grassroots women’s organizations working to end sexual and gender-based violence against women and promote human rights and gender equality in peace and security contexts.

WPHF is also supporting its local CSO partners to prevent conflict and respond to the threat of the COVID-19 global pandemic with urgently needed institutional and programmatic financing.

Our Partners

WPHF has supported 25 projects implemented by 43 women-led and women’s rights civil-society organizations in Uganda:

WPHF and Spotlight Initiative Partners

Ending Violence Against Women and Girls in Crisis Settings

• Uganda Change Agent Association on a project to strengthen the capacity of women’s rights groups, autonomous social movements, and relevant civil society organizations working to improve women and girls’ safety, security and human rights.
• Umbrella of Hope Initiative on a project to address the contextual issues surrounding the protection and empowerment of women and girls, as well as build the capacity of community-based organizations in conflict-affected areas.
• Uganda Women’s Network on a project to empower women leaders in host and refugee communities, promote the influence of women’s rights-based organizations in policy dialogue, and enhance the capacity of local women’s movements to sustain humanitarian response, advance gender equality, and empower women.
• Women’s International Peace Centre on a project to enhance the leadership and influence of local women leaders and women’s groups across refugee settlements and host communities in the Adjumani district, as well as effectively influence peacebuilding and decision-making processes to advance gender equality in humanitarian settings.
• Coalition for Action on UNSCR 1325 on a project to build on existing structures and invest in trainings to build the local capacity of grassroots CSOs in gender-based violence and peacebuilding issues.
• Women’s Organization Network for Human Rights Advocacy on a project to empower vulnerable women through increased access to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) services and justice in rural areas, and build their capacity to collectively demand their rights to end sexual and gender-based violence and eliminate the violence against women and girls.
• Teso Omen Women Peace Activists on a project to reduce the physical, sexual and psychological violence against indigenous women and girls, as well as strengthen multi-sectoral coordination mechanisms to understand, prevent and respond to sexual and gender-based violence and provide support to survivors.

Other WPHF Partners

Conflict Prevention

• Mothers of Hope (MOPE) on a project to address inter-ethnic conflict around land rights and resource ownership. The initiative aims to build the capacities of women peace ambassadors, local men, and clan leaders on alternative dispute-resolution approaches.
• Kolir Women Development Organisation (KOWDO) on a project that aims to train 200 women on human rights, leadership, and conflict prevention and management. These women will become Women Peace Actors intended to serve as a conduit for the reporting and referral of early warning signs of conflict, as well as undertake joint advocacy at the regional level.
• Paradigm for Social Justice & Development (PSD) on a project to avert electoral violence by deploying peace coordinators to mobilize women in seven constituencies. These women will be trained on conflict and violence prevention, early warning systems and response mechanisms, and building relationships with council leaders, religious authorities, and local police to help build response strategies.
• Gulu Women Economic Development and Globalization (GWED – G) on a project to train a cadre of 40 women mediators and four district peace focal points to engage in community dialogues — aiming to promote women’s engagement in conflict prevention.
• Women & Rural Development Network (WORUDET) on a project focused on refugee and host communities, aiming to enhance women’s role in conflict prevention processes. The initiative will undertake partner capacity mapping and power analyses to help inform the training and capacity development of 700 leaders to conduct community dialogues and develop an early warning system.
• Uganda Society for Disabled Children (USDC) on a project aimed at bringing women and children with disabilities into conflict prevention mechanisms. Initial activities will focus on creating positive attitudes around the involvement of women with disabilities in conflict resolution — training participants in early warning systems, reporting, and community dialogues, and linking them with higher level district and sub-county offices.
• SHED on a project that aims to train 45 land rights officials and eight women’s land rights activists to ensure women’s meaningful participation in alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.
• Rwenzori Forum for Peace & Justice (RFPJ) on a project focused on electoral conflict that seeks to enable women to play a more proactive role in its prevention through public awareness campaigns on the radio and TV. The project will train 40 women leaders and 20 women’s organizations to work together to report on election-related conflict.
• National Association of Professional Environmentalists (NAPE) on a project to support the economic empowerment of women and train 700 women leaders to participate in mediation and dialogue processes, as well as in the establishment of local peace committees to undertake conflict resolution activities.
• Baitambogwe Community Healthcare Initiative on a project engaging 2,000 key district stakeholders, including men and religious leaders, and 100 local councilors in a range of activities to improve attitudes around women’s participation in conflict prevention — building capacity for response at the local level and improving linkages with national structures.
• Meeting Point Hoima (MPH) on a project to strengthen the organizational and technical capacity of 12 women’s groups — enabling them to analyze emerging conflicts and identify means of addressing and reporting them. The project will also train 360 peace ambassadors to establish local committees to support dialogue and peace clubs in schools.
• Mid-Western Region Anti-Corruption Coalition (MIRAC) on a project to train the district land board, area land committees, and 50 women’s groups on land policies and laws so that they are better able to manage conflict and change attitudes on inheritance, marriage, and divorce laws.

Responding to and surviving COVID-19 in Crisis Settings

• Amani Initiative on a project to sustain its work preventing child marriage through the improvement of its management information systems. The initiative will also help the organization purchase computers and smartphones to work remotely so that it ensures the continuity of its services during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Kyaka United Youth Deaf Association (KUYDA) on a project to sustain its work providing humanitarian support to women and girls with disabilities in Kyegegwa District, helping the organization adapt to the crisis by upgrading its facilities and providing training to staff and volunteers who have been financially impacted by COVID-19.
• Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET) on a project to sustain its work enhancing the meaningful participation of women’s organizations in local and national emergency response — helping to improve its IT infrastructure and equipment for the increased use of digital platforms for advocacy to prevent the further spread of COVID-19.
• National Association for Women’s Action in Development (NAWAD) — together with KBT, EBT, and KHWG — on a project targeting vulnerable women who work at truck stops and border crossings, or sell market produce in the city of Mbarara — providing trainings on COVID-19 so that they can spread public health information and awareness at the local level.

Background

Uganda is positioned at a crossroads in its sustainable development trajectory. The country’s many peace and security challenges are driven by unaddressed legacies of past conflict and human rights abuses, gaps in transitional justice processes, proliferation of illicit small arms, border disputes, community displacement caused by extractive oil and mineral industries, and violent conflict among political parties after the 2016 general elections.

Women’s organizations in Uganda have been active in building peace since the Juba peace process. Local women’s CSOs have consistently advocated for peace— building bridges, seeking consensus and opening communication across factions. Sustainable peace and development in Uganda requires the further empowerment of women and girls to contribute to and benefit equally from peace dividends. Yet, there remain considerable gaps in their active engagement.

Our Vision

The envisaged impact of the WPHF and Spotlight Initiative partnership in Uganda is to foster the effective implementation and localization of the Women, Peace and Security agenda — building upon the work of women’s organizations and tapping into the potential of local women activists to further accelerate the realization of sustainable peace across the country.