Delay Marriage Promote Schooling for Ugandan Girls

We are pleased to share a detailed update on our participation in the recent #GirlSummitUg, a national platform dedicated to advancing the protection, rights, and wellbeing of girls across Uganda. The summit brought together government agencies, civil society organisations, development partners, and young people to reflect on progress made in addressing child marriage and teenage pregnancy, while exploring new strategies to strengthen collective action.

During the summit, Joy for Children Uganda had the honour of chairing a full session focused on innovations that are currently shaping national and community-level efforts to reduce child marriage and teenage pregnancy. As session leads, we guided the dialogue and presented the practical work we are implementing in various districts. This included explaining how our community-led prevention models help families and local leaders identify risks early and respond quickly to cases of abuse. We also highlighted how our empowerment programmes create safe spaces for adolescent girls, provide mentorship, and support girls who need help returning to school or enrolling in skills training after pregnancy.

In addition, we shared how our evidence-based advocacy continues to influence national policy conversations. By drawing on findings from our field programmes, we have been able to contribute meaningfully to discussions on strengthening reporting systems, improving service delivery, and increasing the visibility of issues affecting adolescent girls. We further emphasised the importance of working collaboratively with government partners, civil society organisations, and community networks to ensure that interventions are effective, well-coordinated, and sustainable.

Our participation in the summit strengthened our partnerships and increased recognition of the work Joy for Children Uganda is doing to protect and empower girls. It allowed us to share lessons and innovative practices that have shown positive results, while also learning from the experiences of other stakeholders. The summit reaffirmed our commitment to prioritising the rights and wellbeing of girls in all our programmes.

We extend our sincere appreciation to our donors whose continued support makes our work possible. Your contributions enable us to implement meaningful interventions, influence national discourse, and ensure that girls across Uganda have the opportunity to grow, learn, and thrive. Joy for Children Uganda remains committed to building a safer and more supportive environment for every girl.