Combat Child, Early & Forced Marriages in Uganda

Summary

The project rescues girls aged 13-18 years from child, early and forced marriages in Uganda and increase their access to good quality primary and secondary education. The project addresses the challenge of increased early, child and forced marriages in Uganda through community mobilization and sensitization of parents and adolescent girls, provide scholastic materials and re-usable sanitary pads. This is therefore, a project progress report for September- December 2024.Child, early and forced marriages continue to be the major factor hindering adolescent girls to achieve their education carriers in Uganda. More than 34% of girls are married before their 18th birthday every year in Uganda. Girls live under hard conditions that expose them to child, early and forced marriages including poor health conditions.

Achievements

• 95 parents mobilized and sensitized on 2020 new guidelines on pregnancy prevention and management in schools
• 2 community awareness campaigns on early, child and forced was conducted in Kibuku district reaching messages t550 people
• 301 girl children in schools sensitized on the negative effects of child, early and forced marriages
• 65 adolescent girls provided scholastic materials
• 121 adolescent girls provided re-usable sanitary pads.
• Two girl reused from marriage, one with  a child and returning to school this term 1 , 2025

 
Challenges:

• Low involvement of local leaders in enforcing defilement laws in the community
• Limited financial support still remains a challenge to orient local leaders on defilement laws
• Stigma is high among pregnant and child bearing girls remain in schools and as such they drop out of school.
• High expectations by the target girls

Recommendation:

The organization request well-wishers to extend support to the reduction of child, early and forced marriages in Uganda. Child marriage is a human right violation issue and required a lot of attention. The increased child marriages in Uganda also undermine both the government and donors efforts put in education sector.

Links:

• http://www.kado.or.ug