Poverty and inequality are significant obstacles to achieving sustainable peace and justice in the world today. While Uganda is globally ranked among the poorest and highly indebted countries, the intra-country demographic and socio-economic indicators also allude to similar challenge of poverty and inequality. The greatest socio-economic disparities noted point towards the Youth and Women who are most affected . Geographically, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics figures continue to indicate high and increasing levels of household poverty in Northern Uganda i.e. 33% in 2017 to 68% in 2021. The Covid-19 pandemic further exacerbated existing poverty and vulnerability especially among young men and women.
The National aspiration of the Government of Uganda is to transform the country into a middle-income status by the year 2040 as enshrined in the various Policy documents and especially the National Development Plan III. About 80% of Uganda’s population are below 30 years old making it one of the youngest countries in the world. NGS Uganda under this programme will therefore support actions that seek to empower young men and women through 1) enhancement of their participation in policy, decision-making and development processes at national and local levels for increased social inclusion 2) Supporting existing micro and small youth enterprises using innovative local methodologies, apprenticeships, alignment to the green agenda and with the ability to directly employ other young people.
