ASSESSMENT OF PROGRESS AND PERFORMANCE OF THE UGANDA

NATIONAL PROGRAMME OF ACTION FOR CHILDREN (UNPAC) 1992 - 2000

National Council for Children UNICEF Uganda

KampalaNovember 2001

TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Abbreviations/acronyms.................................................................................................................1

Executive summary.................................................................................................................................. iii

1. Background......................................................................................................................................61.1 Introduction............................................................................................................................. 61.2 The underlying cause of children’s problems..........................................................................21.3 The Purpose of UNPAC..........................................................................................................21.4 End of decade assessment process.......................................................................................2

2. IMPLEMENTATION OF UNPAC......................................................................................................32.1 The main actors.......................................................................................................................32.2 The UNPAC strategies............................................................................................................32.3 Development of the legal and policy framework for implementation of unpac.........................5

3. ASSESSMENT OF PERFORMANCE..............................................................................................93.1 Accomplishments under UNPAC............................................................................................93.2 Achievements........................................................................................................................13

4. THE CHALLENGES AND LESSONS LEARNT.............................................................................17

5. FUTURE AGENDA........................................................................................................................ 20

Annex I: UNPAC ASSESSMENT participants......................................................................................21Annex II: List of Documents Reviewed..................................................................................................23Annex III: Terms of reference................................................................................................................. 25

List of Abbreviations/acronymsABEK : Alternative Basic Education for Karamoja

AIDS : Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

BEUPA : Basic Education for Urban Poor Areas

CBOs : Community-Based Organisations

COPE : Complementary Opportunity for Primary Education

CSOs : Civil Society Organisations

DPAC : District Plan of Action for Children

EARS : Education Assessment and Resource Services

ECD : Early Childhood Development

EMIS : Education Management Information System

HIV : Human Immuno-deficiency Virus

HMIS : Health Management Information System

IGG : Inspector General of Government

IMCI : Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses

MFPED : Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development

MGLSD: Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development

MoES : Ministry of Education and Sports

NCC : National Council for Children

NCDC : National Curriculum Development Centre

NGO : Non-Governmental Organisation

PAC : Public Accounts Committee

PHC : Primary Health Care

SPAC : Sub-county Plan of Action for Children

STD : Sexually Transmitted Disease

UNFPA : United Nations Population Fund

UNPAC : Uganda National Plan of Action for Children

UPE : Universal Primary Education

WHO : World Health Organisation

UNPAC Assessment Report: 1992 – 2000 2

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

This end of decade review of the Uganda National Programme of Action for Children (UNPAC) (follow-up of the World Summit for Children 1990), was spearheaded by a multisectoral assessment Core Team, under the coordination and supervision of the National Council for Children (NCC) in collaboration with UNICEF.

UNPAC was adopted in 1992 and launched in 1993 by Government. It has been annually reviewed since 1994 under the coordination of NCC. This assessment of UNPAC performance against the decade goals, objectives and strategies provides a base from where the New Agenda for Children in Uganda for the next decade is to be built.

This UNPAC Assessment focused on mainly the processes through which the implementation on UNPAC has been realized. The Review Report on the UNPAC set goals for the decade 1990- 2000 will be compiled from the Demographic and Health Survey 2000/1 Report, which is nearing completion. It will serve as an Addendum to this Report.

Thanks go to all those from the development partners, government ministries, NGOs, local governments and others for the dedication, hard work, commitment and substantive contributions they devoted to the process of assessing the UNPAC performance during the last decade. Most of the persons and institutions involved in the exercise are named in the list of participants at the back of the report.

Special thanks go to the team of experts of the Information and Discovery and Solutions Ltd (IDEAS) under the leadership of Professor Bibangamba who carried out the desk reviews, interviewed and facilitated information exchange and consensus building on the findings among the stakeholders at the centre and in the districts and compiled the report.

Much appreciation goes to UNICEF Country Office for their technical and financial support to this assessment report throughout its preparations.

Rev Dr Kefa SempangiChairmanNational Council for Children

Michel SidibeCountry Representative

UNICEF

FOREWORD

Uganda was represented by His Excellency Yoweri Kaguta Museveni the President, who together with other world leaders committed themselves to the Declaration and Plan of Action of the World Summit for Children of 1990.

Government translated that high level political commitment to children into a Uganda National Programme of Action for Children (UNPAC) adopted in 1992 and launched in 1993. UNPAC main purpose was to establish survival, protection and development goals related to children and women and guide the social services policies and programmes during the 1990s. The major

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strategy of UNPAC was the provision of basic, minimum social services to as many Ugandans as possible, in the fields of primary health care, clean water and basic sanitation, primary education, adult literacy, and community care for children in need of help.

The assessment of UNPAC performance since its establishment has reflected a number of achievements made towards the set goals, lessons learnt and challenges encountered during the process of implementing its various components by different actors. UNPAC process has a bearing on legislative reforms in favour of children. These include among others the provision for the protection of child rights in the 1995 Uganda Constitution, the enactment of the Children Statute 1996 and the Local Government Act 1997 devolved basic services to districts and provided for one of the Local Council members to take full charge of children issues all of which have brought child rights issues high on the agenda for policy makers, duty bearers, the public at large, and the parents and caretakers of children in particular.

UNPAC also influenced the human development policy reforms during the 1990s, in the areas of health, universal primary education, water and sanitation, gender and population development which have favoured strategies to improve the quality of life of the most vulnerable and least served group in society, the children. UNPAC process accelerated the decentralization of child focused planning processes through the District Plans of Action for Children which provided a basis for the current District Development Plans. The UNPAC major strategy of providing the basic social services to as many people as possible to improve the quality of life for the entire population has been adopted by the National Poverty Eradication Action Plan which is presently guiding direction of resource allocations of the national budget.

A stock of the achievements registered are to be consolidated and sustained. Many challenges and constraints which have hindered the pace of progress in achieving the UNPAC set goals are also recognized and have to be seriously addressed in the New Agenda for Children for the next decade of 2000s. These include among others: poverty at household levels, persisting negative social and cultural attitudes and practices against child rights, HIV/AIDS pandemic, and a weak capacity and mechanism for coordination and monitoring of stakeholders in child related issues at the centre and in the districts.

In Uganda, Children issues will continue to be are accorded top priority in all programme processes and through current and future legislative and policy reforms. This report therefore, provides a base on which future policies and strategies to address child issues will be built during this decade of the 2000s to make a better future for our children.

Hon. Hajati Janat MukwayaMINISTER – GENDER, LABOUR AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Executive summaryThe concern for children – their survival, their growth and development, their rights and their welfare best expressed at the 1989 “Convention on the Rights of the Child” and the 1990 World Summit for Children goes beyond the fact that children are vulnerable and therefore need special safeguards and care. It is an integral part of the concern for the protection of humanity and the seeds of the human race. The vision that is concomitant with this concern is that of humankind, freed from poverty, disease, violence and injustice.

The process of developing the Uganda National Programme of Action for Children (UNPAC) was a logical follow-up of the pledge that Uganda made to the Declaration and Plan of Action of the 1990 World Summit for Children. The main purpose of the National Programme was to establish survival, development and protection goals related to children and women; identify policies and actions to address the situation that had been analysed and set targets to be achieved during the 1990s. The intention was to

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provide basic minimum social services to as many Ugandans as possible through primary health care, clean water and basic sanitation, primary education and adult literacy and protection of children in need.

The implementation of UNPAC was a multi-sectoral collaborative effort by: the National Council for Children (NCC) and secretariat as coordinator, in collaboration with line government ministries responsible for the social services sector; local government authorities as implementers; supporting agencies and collaborators including the UN agencies particularly UNICEF, Save the Children Alliance, several child-based non-governmental organisations, community based organisations (CBOs), families/households.

The UNPAC process is to be credited with several accomplishments. The most important of these was the preparation of the UNPAC document itself which was overseen by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and endorsed by Cabinet in 1992. The document also set end-of-decade national goals. The completion of the UNPAC document at national level inspired similar developments at district level and thirty four (34) districts, out of the then 39 districts, drew-up District Plans of Action for Children (DPACs). A major by-product of this process was the generation of the relevant data at district levels; and influencing resource allocation to issues that particularly affect children.

The preparation of the UNPAC document and its subsequent devolution to the districts through DPACs led to conscientious awakening of the local authorities to the realities of the situation of children in their respective areas of jurisdiction. UNPAC accelerated the decentralisation of the provision of social services through an implementation strategy that transferred responsibility of service delivery to the sub-national levels through the establishment of District Plans of Action for Children (DPACs).

UNPAC had a bearing on several policy developments in a variety of areas including health, water and sanitation, education and child protection. The reaffirmation of the primary health care (PHC) concept is in line with placing emphasis on children’s health. The policy of Universal Primary Education (UPE) and the passing of the Children Statute are equally supportive of the intentions of UNPAC. The UNPAC document was a positive influence on gender policy especially in the promotion of girl education.

The enactment of the Children Statute as the essential legal framework for dealing with the concerns of children pioneered the championing of the “rights-based approach” in programming development and the notion that development is a right (for which a claim can be made). This rights-based approach has subsequently been adopted for the national poverty reduction strategy known as the Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP). The orientation introduced by the UNPAC, and especially the Children Statute, contributed to the clarification of the duty and obligation of the state to children. A major consequence of this was the greater attention paid to the voice of children (e.g. children’s debates during the 1995 constitution-making process).

The UNPAC process and the enormity of the task of addressing children’s concerns in a holistic manner, helped the acceptance and operationalisation of the notion that development promoters address common problems and this makes it imperative for them to pull together in the interest of a shared dream – of humankind freed from poverty, disease, violence and injustice. The intersectoral team consisting of focal persons in the various ministries were a major vehicle for networking. The National Council for Children was specifically created to form the nexus for this networking on children’s issues.

This assessment highlights persistent poverty, inadequacy of resources committed to the children’s cause and poor management of these resources, armed conflicts, the AIDS pandemic, and negative perception-attitude-cultural practices nexus as being the main challenges to pro-children efforts. The assessment also highlights “political obligation” and “rights-based” thinking on the part of society and a rights-based societal inspiration as the missing-link between the previous national action programmes for children using needs based approaches as opposed to the new Agenda for Children for 2000s which advocates for child rights based approaches.

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Another important challenge is that of shocks and disturbances and the vulnerability of the people and programmes to these episodic occurrences. The important lesson here is that preparedness means available capacity to withstand shocks or quick response to abate disaster. For instance, under the UNPAC as it is now, there is no means of quick response to an emergency situation like mass displacement of people, yet women and children are the most vulnerable category of the people in such situation.

While significant progress was made toward the attainment of the UNPAC goals, it is clear that some of the targets were not realised. Many laudable policies have not yet led to sustainable results and have therefore, not been translated into lasting social change. Insufficient resource allocations to social services have meant that the progress towards national targets and World Summit for Children goals has been slow and the process of positive change also slow. The high rate of economic growth registered during the decade is yet to be transformed into microlevel development benefits to raise household incomes and quality of life of the masses of the population. HIV/AIDS and civil strife have exacerbated the situation.

1. Background1.1 Introduction

The concern for children - their survival, their growth and development, their rights, and their welfare (including freedom from fear and want) best expressed at the 1989 “Convention on the Rights of the Child” and the 1990 World Summit for Children, is not simply a matter of compassion. It goes beyond the premise that “the child by reason of his physical and mental immaturity (i.e. vulnerability) needs special safeguards and care”. It is an integral part of the concern for the protection of humanity or seeds of the human race. It is a part of the response to the torment and pain that humankind has been suffering and continues to suffer owing to the natural disasters, armed conflicts, entrenched poverty, disease or sicknesses, lack of knowledge, and inadequate services.

In the words of UNICEF, “Love and respect for children are key to humanitarian and political progress. Many of today’s most intractable disputes, for all the ethnic or religious character they acquire, are at heart struggles for resources and for survival. Today’s problems of poverty and violence will never subside unless we invest in the physical, mental and emotional development of the next generation.”

Thus the vision or dream implied by the concern for the children is that of humankind, freed from poverty, disease, violence and injustice.

Prior to 1990, the children’s cause had been treated generally within what is called either “social development”, as was the case in Uganda’s First and Second Five Year Development Plans where maternal and child health services (e.g., nutrition rehabilitation and hospital paediatric wards, were given due recognition), or provision of basic social services categorized in the 1980s as health services, water supply, sewerage and sanitation, housing and urban development, community development and education.

The first systematic and empirically-based situation analysis of children and women in Uganda was undertaken in 1989. Although the 1989 situation analysis report makes no explicit reference to the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child, the analysis followed indicators identical with the major goals identified by the 1990 World Summit for Children. It is noteworthy too that the analysis was part of the UNICEF Country Programming process and UNICEF was one of the principal agencies in the organisation of the Summit.

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“The welfare of today’s children is inseparably linked with the peace of tomorrow’s world.”Henry R. Labou’se,

Executive Director UNICEF (1965-1979)

“Concern for children is also a way of addressing today’s violence. Wars are not going to disappear overnight, but we can at least mitigate their effects and ensure that they do not target children and women.”UNICEF

1.2 The Underlying Cause of Children’s ProblemsThe underlying cause of children’s problems was in 1990 and is still scarcity or poverty. Poverty is the principal cause since even the disputes that breed violence (that has been a major source of suffering for children) are a consequence of the struggle for resources and survival. The existence of poverty is amply demonstrated in a number of social and economic indicators. According to the Poverty Eradication Action Plan, as many as 44% of Ugandans are living below the poverty line, on less than one dollar per day. Malnutrition is common: in 1995 38.3% were stunted and 25.5% were under weight. Illiteracy rates are also high. For instance, 47.4% of women aged 15 – 49 years were illiterate. The Human Development for Uganda in 1998 was 0.409. Poverty has three interrelated aspects:

The lack of resources at the household level, which limits economic access to social services such as health care, clean water and education

Inadequate provision of basic social services, making physical access to them difficult or impossible

Lack of effective demand for services owing to knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and practices that discourage households from seeking the services which could improve the quality of their children’s lives and that of other household members.

1.3 The Purpose of UNPACThe process of developing the Uganda National Programme of Action for Children (UNPAC), was a logical follow-up of the pledge that Uganda made to the Declaration and Plan of Action of the 1990 World Summit for Children. The main purpose of the National Programme was to establish survival, protection and development goals related to children and women; identify policies to address the situation that had been analysed; and set targets to be achieved during the 1990s. The goals of UNPAC sought to improve the key indicators of infant and child mortality, of access to basic services such as primary health care, water and sanitation, primary education and literacy and to ensure that children are neither abused nor neglected. The strategy was that UNPAC would provide a multi-sectoral framework for addressing the needs of children by influencing action through plans of various sectoral ministries, district councils, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and community-based organizations (CBOs). The intention was to provide basic minimum social services to as many Ugandans as possible through the following specific broad goals:

Reduction of the infant mortality rate from 101 to 60 per 1000 and the under-5 mortality rate from 180 to 70 per 1000 live births

Reduction of severe and moderate malnutrition among under 5 children from 4.9% and 18.4% to 2.5% and 9.2% respectively

Access to primary education for school age children increased from 69% to 95% and the completion rate of the primary education cycle from 32% to 50% of pupils

Access to safe drinking water and environmental sanitation increased from 23% and 30% respectively to 75%

Reduction of the illiteracy rate from 48% to 24%

Reduction of maternal mortality rate from 500 to 250 per 100,000 live births

Legal protection of the rights of all children.

Each of these goals was of relevance to Uganda’s situation given the unfavourable national indicators, at that time.

1.4 End of Decade Assessment processThe purpose of this report is to present an assessment of the performance of the Uganda National Programme of Action for Children (UNPAC). The UNPAC, which was approved by Cabinet in 1992 and launched by Government in 1993 and contains several targets that were to be achieved by the end of the decade, viz 2000. However, the UNPAC goals were not new, but rather the process allowed the review and prioritisation of different sectoral goals into one document that focused on Children. The main sectors identified with UNPAC goals included health and nutrition, education and literacy, water and sanitation,

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and child protection. In addition to national-level goals, UNPAC was devolved to districts through an equivalent process that led to the development of District Plans of Action for Children (DPACs). A thorough review of UNPAC achievements would require the availability of data on progress on each of UNPAC’s set goals. This is being done through a quantitative survey and will be issued as appendix A of ECD the state report. Therefore the thrust of this assessment is on the UNPAC process rather than whether or not the goals were attained. The detailed Terms of Reference for this consultancy is contained in Annex III to this document. The list of documents reviewed is attached as Annex II.

This report is the outcome of extensive desktop research and consultation with a wide range of stakeholders both at the centre and through field visits to Kasese, Luwero and Ntungamo Districts. Key informant interviews were held at district headquarters, selected sub-counties and at the central level. In addition, two consultative workshops were held to achieve consensus on the main tenets of this report. The workshops drew participants from four districts, namely: Masaka, Iganga, Soroti and Moroto. Representation from key implementers included: the District Director of Health Services; Water and Sanitation Officers; Probation and Welfare Officers; Representatives of the Save the Children Alliance participated in the workshop as well as staff of the National Council for Children and line ministries of Health; Gender Labour and Social Development; Education; Finance, Planning and Economic Development; Local Government, Foreign Affairs and Directorate of Water Development. UNICEF headquarters, ESAR office and country office also participated. The list of participants is attached as Annex I.

2. IMPLEMENTATION OF UNPAC2.1 The main actors

UNPAC was designed as a process that would bring together members of the civil society (including NGOs) with various organs of government in order to work together in a coordinated manner in addressing children’s issues. UNPAC aimed at a multi-sectoral approach to addressing the needs of children and this strategy was to be replicated at the sub-national tiers of government. The main actors in the implementation of UNPAC were:

The National Council for Children (NCC) established as interim body in 1993 and by Statute to provide a structure and mechanism for proper co-ordination, monitoring and evaluation of all policies and programmes relating to the survival, protection and development of the child and other connected/related matters. The membership to the NCC is drawn from the line ministries, indigenous NGOs, the Joint Christian Council, the Muslim Supreme Council and knowledgeable individuals. The Council is serviced by a Secretariat.

Line government ministries responsible for the social services sector (i.e. MFPED; Gender, Labour and Social Development (Department of Children and Youth); Health; Education and Sports; Lands and Water Development; and Juvenile Justice)

Local governments/authorities (district councils and lower local councils)

External support agencies including UNICEF, WHO, UNFPA, USAID, DANIDA, DFID

Non-governmental organisations, communities, families and households.

While these actors continued to play their respective roles, the principal outcome of the UNPAC process was to galvanise their efforts by focusing attention on children’s issues. Thus the main achievement lay in synergy resulting from sharing common goals.

2.2 THE UNPAC StrategiesUNPAC is holistic in conception and orientation but multi-faceted in implementation for purposes of targeting priority areas, which are critical determinants of the survival, growth, development and welfare of children. Thus while the formulation and reviews of UNPAC entailed a multi-sectoral team, its implementation was left to the sectoral ministries to undertake. This was the case at both the national and lower levels of government (i.e. district and sub-county).

The strategy of UNPAC is to provide basic minimum social services to as many Ugandans as possible in the fields of: primary health care; safe and clean water and basic sanitation; primary education and adult literacy; community care for children in need, and; economic well-being and improved human welfare.

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The provision of these basic social services was guided by the principle of a "First Call for Children" which means that the essential needs of children should be given high priority in the allocation of resources in good times as well as in bad times at international, national, community and family levels.

In accordance with this guiding principle, UNPAC to a good extent, provided a framework for achieving a shift in national policies so as to ensure:

Achievement of policy solutions that are equitable to all groups, particularly women and children and those in disadvantaged areas of the country.

Provision of sufficient resources by government (both central and local authorities), NGOs, and external support agencies to provide basic services to all Ugandans.

Effective use of resources through development of a national partnership of cooperation between government and non-governmental institutions in the areas of planning, implementation and monitoring.

Development of sustainable solutions that are low-cost and community-based.

The implementation of UNPAC involved several strategies aimed at heightening the concern for children’s issues both within governmental organs and civil society organisations with a view of influencing the adoption of specific programmes.

i) Advocacy

Effective implementation required adoption of a higher profile in advocating for the rights of the child at national, district and community levels. It also required mobilisation of communities to enable them understand better the rights of the children. To enhance the place of advocacy, it was made one of the core elements in programmes like the GoU/UNICEF Country Programme (1995-2000) and initiatives of the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development and those of the child rights NGOs. The National Council for Children was established by Statute and charged with spearheading advocacy for children’s causes. Additionally, the Children Statute was simplified and translated into several languages and materials for advocacy were distributed to the districts through the District Probation Officers.

ii) Networking

As the task of implementing the UNPAC was recognised to be too enormous for a single agency, an inter-sectoral teams consisting of focal persons located in relevant ministries fostered sectoral networking. Through the NCC, efforts were also made to ensure that donors, NGOs and all other collaborators in the implementation of the Statute were kept informed of progress through regular reports, consultations, consensus building conferences at the centre and in districts and participation in some of the activities. Several NGOs emerged to tackle the various issues identified in the UNPAC.

iii) Sensitisation on the Statute

To sensitise policy-makers, implementers (e.g. Members of Parliament, district and sub-county officials) and other actors (e.g. the media, teachers, medical workers, NGOs, religious leaders) on the Children Statute, workshops were conducted at various levels. The intentions of the workshops were to make these prospective actors understand the implications of implementing the Statute and the need to commit resources to that effect taking account of existing structures, roles, funding, staff requirements and all that was needed to implement the Statute.

iv) Resource mobilisation

Since financial resources are a key input in the implementation process, mobilisation of funds from government and its development partners was recognised as one of the essential tasks.

v) Training of judicial officers and other law enforcement agents

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It was envisaged that effective implementation of the statute would necessarily involve, among others, the handlers of judicial instruments. For this reason, it was both desirable and essential that Magistrates be trained in order to: acquaint them with the jurisdiction conferred upon them by the Children Statute; introduce them to a new approach to litigation involving children; change their attitudes towards children’s issues. The Police officers and Probation and Welfare Officers in districts were trained and introduced to the rules and regulations in the implementation of the Children Statute.

vi) Working with existing structures and institutional framework

Since resource scarcity would make it difficult to establish, in a physical form, all institutions like Family and Children Courts plus safe places of detention and remand homes, Local Authorities were, in the short run, Local Authorities were encouraged to work within existing structures and institutional frameworks. In any case, children are not expected to be detained in adult cells nor taken to adult Courts. Every district is required to have at least a Family and Children Court and a Remand Home. Children and Family Courts were gazetted and magistrates appointed in all the 45 districts by 1999.

vii) Proactive versus Reactive Interventions

For the community to understand the rights of the child, it was necessary to encourage the various actors to use a more proactive approach rather than a reactive attitude. In this regard, civic education about the Statute was a major activity.

viii) Develop specific programmes

In the interest of a big push, the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development encouraged initiatives by a variety of actors, including individuals, organisations, NGOs, aimed at effective implementation of the Children Statute. A wide spectrum of stakeholders was thus involved in the various aspects of ensuring the realisation of the goals of instituting the Statute.

ix) Improvement of the situation of children in institutions including those in custody and babies homes

As part of the strategies to implement the Children Statute, it was necessary to immediately improve the situation of children in custodial institutions. This entailed ensuring basic standards including their isolation from adult offenders. The thrust of these interventions was to ensure that children live in the family and are re-integrated into community life. For those who have to live in institutions as a last resort, rules and standard regulations were developed by Government to ensure basic standards are observed.

2.3 Development of the legal and policy framework for implementation of unpac

The introduction of UNPAC coincided with on-going macro-economic policy and institutional reforms that were intended to facilitate Uganda’s graduation from poverty and vulnerability to prosperity and security. An institutional reform most relevant to the performance of UNPAC is the decentralisation policy, which entailed the devolution of power and responsibility for the provision of services to district and lower-level governments. This means that as a result of this devolution of power from the centre to the local governments, the interests of vulnerable groups (i.e. children, youth, women, and the disabled) are, or can now be, articulated at all levels of government. More specifically, the legal and policy reforms and orientations that have constituted a framework for implementation of UNPAC have included the following:

i) Decentralization of UNPAC

The devolution of UNPAC through the development of District Plans of Action for Children (DPACs) and Sub-county Plans of Action for Children (SPACs) was done in 34 out of the then 39 districts of Uganda by 1997. The DPAC process significantly raised the profile of children’s issues in the districts. Consequently, the District Development Plans (DDPs) of districts which had developed their DPACs, have a strong child focused development element. The approach used in developing DPACs and SPACs strengthened district planning and ownership of the plans. The box below shows some of the experiences.

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CONTRIBUTION OF UNPAC DECENTRALISATION TO MICRO/LOCAL PLANNINGIt demonstrated, encouraged and developed the capacity of districts in the use of data for planning and management programmes;It improved co-ordination with NGOs and among departments by integrating activities into district activities. The cluster-approach used – where districts in a region or zone develop and review their respective DPACs - introduced and strengthened inter-district linkages;The involvement of the Secretaries for Children Affairs (SCAs) during DPAC development and the endorsement of the plan by the District Local Council (DLC) served to sensitise local leaders on the issues affecting children and resulted, in some districts, in improved budgeting based on sectoral situation analysis;The development of SPACs introduced sub-counties to the concept of medium and long-term planning and budgeting; It helped to identify the capacities and inadequacies at district and sub county levels for implementation.

However, the top-down approach used in decentralising UNPAC made it to be perceived by some key actors as National Council for Children activity because it was the NCC which spearheaded the decentralisation process. Secondly, some actors felt that DPACs left out key sectors, like production which affects the priority area of nutrition. This indicated that “children’s issues” per se cannot easily be isolated from other social and economic development concerns. The approach now is to integrate children issues into the DDPs instead of developing a separate district plan of action for children.

ii) Law reforms

There were several parallel developments that had a bearing on the realisation of UNPAC goals. The significant ones included the following:

The 1995 Constitution of the Republic of Uganda

Article 33(3) provides for the protection of the rights of women, taking into account their unique status and natural maternal function in society. Article 34 provides for the protection of the rights of children. Article 35 provides for the rights of persons with disability. It is noteworthy that children’s opinions were sought on certain parts of the Constitution through a variety of children’s fora including a national debate by children.

The Children Statute, 1996

This Statute had the aims to reform and consolidate the laws relating to children, to provide for care, protection and maintenance of children, to provide for local authority support for children, to establish a Family and Children Court, to make provision for children charged with offences and other connected purposes. It provides a comprehensive legal instrument for the protection of the rights of children as well as obligations of children to society. The basis of the Statute were the provisions of the international legal instruments. The Convention on Rights of the Child (1989) was the main driving force behind the development and subsequent enactment of the Children Statute. Other important agreements from which the Children Statute derives are:

UN Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (Riyadh Guidelines)

UN Standard Minimum Rules for Administration of Juvenile Justice (Beijing Rules)

UN Rules for the protection of Juveniles deprived of their liberty.

The National Council for Children Statute (1996)

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Established NCC as a body to provide a structure and mechanism to ensure proper coordination, monitoring and evaluation of all policies and programmes relating to the survival, protection and development of the child and for other related matters.

The Local Government Act, 1997

Recognises the special needs of children and provides for one of the Local Council Executives at all levels to take charge of children’s affairs.

It has devolved the basic services, which have great impact on child welfare to the local leadership and communities where children can be reached and their real needs can be identified and addressed.

Decentralisation has facilitated promotion of popular participation and empowerment of the local people in decision-making in their own affairs.

The Land Act, 1998

Ensures security of land tenure to all Ugandans.

Has provided for increased access to and use of land by the poor who constitute the majority of the population in the country.

Provides for children to give consent to the sale of land/property where the family resides.

The Water Statute, 1995 Promotes the provision of a clean, safe and sufficient supply of water to domestic purposes to all

persons.

Recognises the need to control pollution, safe water storage, treatment, discharge and disposal of waste which may pollute water or harm the environment.

iii) Human Development Policy reforms

Universal Primary Education (UPE) 1997

Ongoing reform that is geared towards universalisation and vocationalisation of primary education.

Recognises the key role that primary education plays in the human capital and other socio-economic inputs in national development.

Health Policy updates of 1993, 1997, 1999

Centred on the primary health care strategy that targets the most vulnerable population groups, the women and children.

Recognises the need to involve more communities and the private sector to supplement government efforts in development and delivery of health services to improve coverage and quality.

A sector-wide approach has produced a National Health Policy and a five-year National Strategic Plan whose implementation was effective from July 2000.

The 1995 Population Policy

Aims at positively influencing demographic trends and patterns with regard to fertility, mortality and morbidity, targeting mainly women and children. The population policy makes explicit reference to goals set at the World Summit for Children.

The 1997 Gender Policy

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Provides direction and guidance to all programmes and stakeholders to consciously streamline gender issues in their respective activities including child-related ones.

Good Governance

(a) Anti-corruption and monitoring efforts include the creation of the following institutions:

Inspector General of Government (IGG)

Public Accounts Committee (PAC)

Anti-Corruption Unit - Office of Vice President

Ministry of Ethics and Integrity.

(b) Human Rights Support

Uganda Human Rights Commission was established and supported, together with other Human Rights activists, in advocacy capacity building and civic education to enhance observation and protection of human rights.

(c) Support to Judiciary (rule of law and administrative justice)

Establishment of Uganda Law Reform Commission

Capacity building of Judicial system, criminal investigations and public prosecutors.

Promotion of legal education.

Training of lawyers, prosecutors and paralegals.

Promotion of prisoners’ rehabilitation.

Strengthening of resident High Court stations up-country to reduce backlog of unattended cases.

Establishment of the Family and Children Courts in all districts and appointment of magistrates to man them.

iv) Macro-economic policy reforms:

Restoration of fiscal and monetary discipline.

Improvement of the incentive structure and investment climate for exports and other productive enterprises through liberalisation of both commodity and exchange markets and prices.

Rehabilitation of the country's economic, social and institutional infrastructure.

Reform of the Public Service by means of a Five-Year Public Service Reform Programme (1997 - 2002) with a focus on Results-Oriented Management (ROM).

Promotion of savings and investment especially by the private sector.

Establishment of a National Population Policy that seeks to promote:

Expansion of primary health care coverage.

Sensitisation of the population about the relationship between family size, health and welfare.

Improvement of the status of women.

Enhancement of the provision of care for children's welfare and development.

Raising in the education attainment of females.

Increase of literacy rates.

Increase of the provision of safe drinking water to the rural population.

The expansion of the private sector including the NGO network increased the number of actors in children affairs through the creation of civil society organisations (CSOs).

UNPAC Assessment Report: 1992 – 2000 xiii

It should be noted that although these developments had different foci, they were consistent with and enhanced the achievements of UNPAC goals. Further, in some cases the goals set in UNPAC were carried over to the development of other policy targets (e.g. the National Population Policy).

3. ASSESSMENT OF PERFORMANCE3.1 Accomplishments under UNPAC

3.1.1 UNPAC, the Planning Process and the Development of Data SystemsThe development of UNPAC goals was undertaken by the multi-sectoral group drawn from sectoral ministries, NGOs and external support agencies. The UNPAC process entailed a situation analysis of the policy environment and assembling baseline data in four main areas of children’s needs: health and nutrition, basic education and literacy, water and environmental sanitation, and child protection. The end of decade targets for UNPAC were set in light of this analysis. Since 1994, the NCC has held regular annual national consensus conferences involving a wide range of stakeholders for the purpose of appraising the progress made toward the attainment of UNPAC goals. It was understood that the implementation would be carried out on a sectoral basis.

The completion of the UNPAC process at national level inspired similar developments in the districts and 34 out of the then 39 districts by 1997 drew up district-level action plans (District Plan of Action for Children). In some cases, this process was continued at the lower tier, the sub- county level where Sub-county Plans of Action for Children (SPACs) were drawn up.

The process of developing DPACs in districts was identical to that at national level and had the same demands for data. A major by-product of the DPAC process, therefore, was the assembly of baseline data on the targets of the action plans. The District Planning Units were charged with this particular activity. In addition, the districts’ planning machineries were having their initial experience in drawing up a “home grown” plan for the districts. Thus the DPAC process was one of the early applications of decentralisation and a direct contribution to its subsequent successful implementation. The initial experience of a multi-sectoral focus on children through DPACs was later transferred to district-wide concerns through the District Development Plans, which are now mandatory.

3.1.2 Health and NutritionMany activities undertaken in the health sector during 1990-1999 decade have a direct bearing on the attainment of UNPAC goals. The following major activities were undertaken in the areas of health and nutrition.

DEVELOPMENT MILESTONES IN HEALTH AND NUTRITION SINCE 19901990 – 1993

A white paper and three-year rolling health plans were evolved.

1993 – 1997

Health Sector reforms implemented include:o Decentralised service delivery to districts and sub-districts

structures. Districts started to prepare their own plans with support of the centre

o The Ministry of Health was restructured in line with new mandate including the establishment of Child Health Division

o A Burden of Disease/cost-effectiveness study was carried out and became a basis for the Uganda National Minimum Health Care Package

o Development of a Health Policy started (in 1996)1997 – 2000

o Development of Health Policy was finalisedo The concept of sector-wide approach to health sector

development was introducedo The Health Sector Support Plan (HSSP) was developed and later

refinedo Structure for implementation of the HSSP established and

operationalisedo Nutrition and Early Childhood Development Programme (NECDP)

UNPAC Assessment Report: 1992 – 2000 xiv

DEVELOPMENT MILESTONES IN HEALTH AND NUTRITION SINCE 19901990 – 2000

Other key interventions implemented include:o The Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses (IMCI) projecto Sexually Transmitted Infections Project (STIP)o Reproductive Health Projecto Expanded Programme of Immunisation (EPI)

The review of the National Health Policy reaffirmed the relevance of the primary health care (PHC) concept as the basic strategy for promoting a healthy and productive life for all Ugandans. The National Health Policy outlines the means for achieving an equitable distribution of health services, a high level of efficiency and good quality of health care. It also pays attention to partnership between the public and private sector and inter-sectoral collaborations among health-related ministries, development agencies and other institutions.

The general objective of the IMCI project is to improve the quality of care provided to children under five years of age. This is to be achieved by improving the community capacity for correct home care and prompt care-seeking for childhood illnesses and improving the performance of health workers in IMCI. This will entail in-service training in IMCI, advocating for and promoting district ownership of IMCI.

The emphasis of the programme on STD/HIV/AIDS has continued to be the prevention of transmission and the mitigation of the effects of the epidemic on the individual and society as whole. Progress has continued as evidenced by the declining trends of new HIV infections.

The reproductive health projects aim at promoting the well-being of women, men, children, adolescents, and specifically lactating mothers, in order to reduce the high rates of infant, childhood and maternal mortality. Children’s concerns are central to these projects.

Since 1996, the Government has provided for national immunisation days (NIDs) to reinforce the immunisation carried out on a routine basis. The immunisation aims at reducing the morbidity and mortality from the six immunisable diseases, namely, measles, poliomyelitis, whooping cough, tetanus, tuberculosis and diphtheria. The NIDS programme put special focus on poliomyletus and achieved over 80% coverage during 1998 – 2000. The coverage for other antigens did not match with the UNPAC goals and great efforts are being made to revitalize routine immunization programme through enhanced health extension services.

The Ministries of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries and Health jointly developed a Food and Nutrition Policy. The thrust of the policy is to improve the nutrition status of the population by ensuring household food security, proper food preparation and a balanced diet. The policy focuses on young children, pregnant and lactating mothers.

3.1.3 Water and environmental sanitationThere were several developments under the water and sanitation sector during the 1990-1999 decade which contributed to the realisation of UNPAC goals. A new Water Statute was enacted in November 1995. A Water Action Plan (1995) and a National Water Policy (1999) were developed and are operational. These instruments together with the National Environmental Management Policy (1994) and Statute (1995) provide a coherent framework for the development, management, utilisation and sustenance of the water resources.

The Directorate of Water Development in collaboration with various partners undertook the drilling of boreholes, spring protection, rainwater-harvesting, demonstration latrines especially in public institutions such as schools, hospitals, health centres and administration headquarters in all areas. Community mobilisation to ensure sustainability is a key component of these activities and operation and maintenance is the responsibility of user communities; districts provide technical support. However, inadequate manpower at district levels to implement and assist communities to construct and maintain the protected water sources still poses a problem.

UNPAC Assessment Report: 1992 – 2000 xv

The policy of Universal Primary Education has resulted in a fortuitous improvement in latrine coverage for children. Since schools are more likely to have a latrine, those children in school are equally more likely to have access to this facility. Improved sanitation in schools is also an incentive to retain children in schools especially girls.

3.1.4 Basic education and adult literacyThe Ministry of Education and Sports, in collaboration with Donors, NGOs and the private sector, has implemented a number of activities that have contributed towards the achievement of the UNPAC goals of increasing access to primary education for school-age children from 69% to 95% and the completion of the primary education cycle from 32% to 50% of pupils. The most important activities were:

The implementation of the Universal Primary Education (UPE)

The rehabilitation and expansion of school facilities

Teacher training

Provision of instructional materials

Introduction of early childhood development programmes

Provision of alternative opportunities for children out of formal schools

Promotion of functional adult literacy.

The table below shows some of the milestones for education during the last decade.

MILESTONES FOR EDUCATION IN UGANDA: 1987 – 2000 1987 Government set up the Education Policy Review Commission to review

the whole education system1990 Uganda signed on the Jomtien Declaration – committing the country to

the provision of education for all by 20001992 Government prepared a Government White Paper on Education. The

paper made a firm commitment to the fulfilment of the Rights to education by all

1994 Complementary Opportunities for Primary Education (COPE) was developed. Implementation started in four districts in 1995.

1997 The Universal Primary Education policy was operationalised1997/98 Education Strategic Development Plan (1998 – 2003) was developed.1998 A technical forum to advise NCC on national strategies to promote

early childhood care and development was established1998 Alternative Basic Education for Karamoja (ABEK) programme adapted

to nomadic life styles was launched2000 The Uganda New Primary School Curriculum (Volume I) was introduced

in all primary schoolsJune 2000

The National Strategy for Girls’ Education was launched.

Under the Programme for Alleviation of Poverty and Social Costs of Adjustment (PAPSCA) and the National Classroom Construction Plans, school facilities expansion was implemented all over the country. Following the implementation of UPE, the Ministry of Education estimates that 75,880 classrooms are required to meet the needs of children in primary schools.

Distance education and in-service training programmes for teachers have been implemented. In order to make primary education more relevant, the National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC) has developed a new primary school curriculum. Instructional materials have been provided under the Support Uganda Primary Education Reform (SUPER). The Ministry of Education and Sports is implementing a plan for investment and replacement of instructional materials.

UNPAC Assessment Report: 1992 – 2000 xvi

The UPE policy gives priority to all orphans and children with disability or special needs by guaranteeing them access to free primary education. Educational Assessment and Resource Services (EARS) is being implemented in the country to support children with hearing impairment. Alternative approaches being implemented include Complementary Opportunity for Primary Education (COPE), the Alternative Basic Education for Karamoja (ABEK), and Basic Education for Urban Poor Areas (BEUPA). A national strategy and plan of action for girls’ education was launched in June 2000 and is being implemented. The national early childhood development (ECD) curriculum has been developed and the National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC) has been mandated to develop curriculum materials for all levels of pre-primary schools.

Some of the developments in the educational sector have implications for other aspects of child growth and development. For example, primary schools have been provided with pit latrines to improve on sanitation. In addition, the new curriculum for primary schools emphasizes human rights issues.

3.1.5 Child protectionUNPAC goals for child protection stemmed from the identification of children’s needs associated with particular circumstances. These included inconsistent enforcement of the laws intended to protect children, lack of access to basic services for children with disabilities and children without adequate care from parents or relatives. This group includes orphans, street children, working children and those abused. Children in especially difficult circumstances such as those in war situation, captivity and slavery face special problems.

Various strategies were proposed for pursuing the UNPAC. The main thrust was through sensitisation and education for parents, the community and society as a whole on the rights of the child. The second strategy was to review the relevant laws with a view to improving the legal protection of children rights.

A significant development in the area of child protection was the passing of the Children Statute 1996. This statute further articulated the rights of the child enshrined in the Constitution that was adopted in September 1995. It was also a springboard for action in the area of child protection. Awareness creation and education on the rights of the child have been undertaken. In this regard, a number of activities have been implemented as summarised below.

SOME OF THE ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN AIMED AT IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CHILDREN STATUTESensitisation and orientation of local government council and community leaders, personnel of government and NGOs on child rights, the needs of vulnerable children and implementation of the Children StatuteThe Children Statute was simplified (in English) and also translated into six local languages and distributed to districts and NGOs. The statute is being translated into four other local languages.Training of trainers and district-level training of functionaries concerned with implementation (the police personnel, the judiciary, LC officials - particularly Secretaries for Children Affairs, probation and welfare officers, prison warders) was doneThe Family and Children Courts (FCC) have been gazetted in all the 45 districts by year 2000The Uganda Law Reform Commission undertook a comprehensive assessment of existing laws and their implementation relating to defilement and sexual exploitation of childrenThe family protection unit has been created under the Community Affairs Section of the Uganda Police forceA Child Labour Steering Committee was established to follow up implementation of

UNPAC Assessment Report: 1992 – 2000 xvii

SOME OF THE ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN AIMED AT IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CHILDREN STATUTEthe recommendations of the national position paper on child labourA Juvenile Justice Programme is being piloted in Gulu, Hoima and Masaka districts A psycho-social support programme for children affected by armed conflict is being implemented in the affected districtsChild rights clubs were formed in a number of schools. This has encouraged the participation of children in the discussion of some of the immediate problems affecting them. They are also involved in the management of schools, including primary schools. Children in and out of school are encouraged to participate in debates, essays art, music, drama and other competitions and festivals to air their views on their rights.

3.1.6 UNPAC Co-ordination and MonitoringUNPAC envisioned that overall monitoring and implementation of UNPAC goals would be the responsibility of the NCC. Line ministries would be responsible for sectoral-level monitoring. Districts would be supported by the NCC and line ministries to establish and maintain the UNPAC monitoring system. Review meetings would be the main methods used in generating, sharing and disseminating information.

The Ministry of Education and Sports, and the Ministry of Health have been strengthening the Education Management Information System (EMIS) and the Health Management Information System (HMIS) respectively. The Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development through the Uganda Bureau of Statistics has conducted a number of national surveys that provided data for monitoring UNPAC goals. Government is also refining a poverty monitoring strategy, which will outline a clear structure within the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development for public and all other institutions involved in monitoring. At district level, the district planning units are being strengthened through the provision of equipment and training to the district planning unit and staff in other line

departments. UNICEF has provided support for the Community-Based Management Information System to strengthen data collection (including birth registration in rural areas), analysis and dissemination at community level.

3.2 Achievements3.2.1 General achievements in the implementation of UNPAC

and related socio-economic policiesThe enactment of the Children Statute was a landmark in the new orientation brought by UNPAC because it is this Statute that institutionalised the rights-based approach and the concept of a right as “the capacity to call upon authority (i.e. the state) to protect one’s claim to a benefits stream” in Uganda’s provision of social services. UNPAC and especially the Children Statute prepared ground for the subsequent orientation of the Local Government Act and the rights-based approach adopted or incorporated in the Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP). The new orientation also influenced some other positive developments such as clarification of the duty and obligation of the State to children who are the seeds of the human race; a clear policy for education promoting universal primary education and a gender policy promoting girl-child education.

UNPAC Assessment Report: 1992 – 2000 xviii

Despite constraints and bottlenecks the NCC made significant accomplishments including: the co-ordination of the

decentralisation of UNPAC the periodic reviews of the

situation of children, adolescents and women

the annual reviews of implementation of UNPAC

the development of child rights monitoring indicators.

During the 1990s, resource allocation to social services increased substantially. For instance, the share of social services in the national budget increased from 20% in 1980 to 30% in 1997/98. Expenditure on education, water and sanitation and primary health has also significantly increased since 1997 as a result of these sectors being among the priority areas of intervention in the PEAP. It should, however, be noted that resource allocations to child care and protection activities remain paltry as shown in the table below.

Source: Background to the Budget 1999/2000, MFPED

A combination of all these institutional, legal and policy reforms and the consistency of the macro-economic policy throughout the whole decade of the 1990s (i.e. the UNPAC implementation period) created a positive enabling environment for UNPAC implementation, accomplishments and achievements. From 1990 to 1999, annual GDP growth averaged about 6.5%, and annual inflation was brought down to single digits by 1993. The proportion of the population living below the poverty line of less than US $1 a day fell from 56% in 1992/93 to 44% in 1997/98, and human development as measured by the Human Development Index is estimated to have increased from 0.329 in 1992 to 0.409 in 1998 (CCF for Uganda 2001 – 2005).

However, whereas UNPAC was developed as a long-term framework, certain emergencies, shocks or disturbances such as internal and cross-border conflicts or wars, HIV/AIDS and resultant high numbers of orphans caused distortions and disruptions and consequently undermined what would have otherwise been a high degree of achievement of UNPAC goals. Similarly, inadequate resource availability resulting from either inadequate resource allocation or inadequate tax revenue and hence inadequate resource disbursement led to some plans remaining underfunded plans, and this became a disincentive to planning especially at low level of implementation. As a consequence, the planning has remained needs-based “instead of being rights-based”. The overall effect of all these constraints is that the institutional reforms and positive policies have not been translated into positive micro-level socio-economic change – a change that is necessary for sustainment of desirable development results as fast as possible.

For capacity enhancement at the sectoral and micro levels to fight poverty effectively and to promote sustainable growth and development, Government has adopted a multi-sectoral poverty reduction strategy – the Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP) which, as noted above, incorporates promotion of human rights and provides a strategic framework for addressing the challenge of mass poverty in general and eradicating absolute poverty by 2017.

3.2.2 Performance under individual components of UNPACThe pursuance of UNPAC goals can be divided into four broad areas: health and nutrition, water and sanitation, basic education and adult literacy and child care and protection. It is noteworthy that these sectors reinforce each other. For instance, basic education and adult literacy would engender better nutrition and better utilisation of water and sanitation facilities.

i) Health and Nutrition

The health goals in UNPAC were to reduce infant and under-five mortality rates from 101 to 60 per 1000 and from 180 to 70 per 1000 live births respectively. This was to be achieved in part as a result of increased immunisation coverage. In addition, UNPAC had a goal of reducing maternal mortality ratio from 500 to 250 per 100,000 live births. The nutrition goal was a reduction of severe and moderate

UNPAC Assessment Report: 1992 – 2000 xix

Functional Analysis of Central Government Recurrent Expenditure (millions shillings) Description Expenditure in million

shillingsExpenditures as percent of

total 1996/7 1997/8 1998/9 1996/7 1997/8 1998/9

Education affairs and services 60,836 69,437 107,395

9.9 10.6 12.5

Health affairs and services 40,321 29,592 23,197 6.6 4.5 2.7Other community affairs and services

8,871 6,786 9,491 1.4 1.0 1.1

Other economic affairs and services

11,783 9,924 9,492 1.9 1.5 1.1

Grand Total 612,933

652,281

857,974

100 100 100

wasting and underweight malnutrition among under-fives from 4.9% and 18.4% to 2.5% and 9.2% respectively. The table below however, shows that immunisation coverage has been declining for most antigens since 1996/97.

Data from the 1988/89 National Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) indicated an Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) of 118. This figure is consistent with the 1995 survey, which showed an IMR of 97 per 1000 lives. The chart below shows a comparison of these results and the UNPAC targets.

The graph shows that the achievement in the area of infant mortality fell short of the targets set under UNPAC. Between the 1991 census and the 1995 UDHS, the infant mortality rate is recorded to have declined by 25 points and childhood mortality had actually increased by about 9 points. Yet the UNPAC targets imply a decline of 37 points between 1995 and the year 2000, over roughly the same length of period. In fact, it is possible that HIV/AIDS, especially parent-to-child transmission, may have increased the infant mortality rates in the recent past. The UDHS 2000/1 will provide the updated status on IMR, U5MRand MMR.

Trends in nutritional status as measured by the prevalence of stunting (low height for age) and wasting (low weight for height) are shown in the Table. The same table also shows the targets set under UNPAC for the year 2000.

Since 1995, there has not been a national survey to determine the nutrition situation in Uganda. However, there have been localised studies that can provide a picture of the situation. The trends in the levels of malnutrition between 1988/89 and 1995 are inconclusive and given the seasonal fluctuations in these indices, it appears that there was no decline in malnutrition. Moreover, poor nutrition has implications for other UNPAC goals such as education: stunting leads to low level of cognitive development and result in low educational attainment. In turn, the major causes of stunting are related to mothers’ education, with illiterate mothers’ children showing substantially more unfavourable indices. Small-scale studies done after 1995 do not show a definitive decline in malnutrition. UDHS 2000/1 will provide the updated status report on UNPAC goals and indicators.

UNPAC Assessment Report: 1992 – 2000 xx

Trends in National Immunisation Rates Against Major Diseases (1994/95 – 1998/99)ANTIGEN

1994/95

1995/96

1996/97

1997/98

1998/99

BCG 98 96 102 88 52DPT3 79 74 72 61 45OVP3 78 78 71 61 45Measles

79 82 70 63 36

TT2(P) 76 72 58 47 28TT(NP) 16 13 10 9 6Source: UNEPI Newsletter, Issue 3, Vol. 1, 1999

Trends in nutritional status of childrenIndex 1988-

89 UDHS

1995 UDHS

UNPAC Goals (2000)

Height-for-age<-2 SD 43.0 38.8 20<-3 SD 17.0 14.9Weight-for-height<-2 SD 1.9 5.1 <5<-3 SD 0.1 1.0Weight-for-age<-2 SD 23.0 25.0 18.4<-3 SD 5.1 6.5 2.5Number of children

3,185 3,991

Source: UDHS 1995

ii) Water and Environmental Sanitation

The original UNPAC target was to increase access to safe drinking water and environmental sanitation facilities coverage from 40% to 75% and from 45% to 65% respectively in rural areas. The water target was revised to 55% following a review which viewed the earlier target as unrealistic. The principal objectives were to reduce the incidence of water-borne and faecal-based diseases, particularly those that disproportionately affect children. The plan foresaw close collaboration between the water sector ministry and that responsible for health. In this connection, guinea worm disease would be eradicated, as would illness and death due to malaria and diarrhoeal diseases.

Starting with 4,552 protected springs in 1991, this number rose to 15,547 in 1996 and further to 15,970 in 1998. The increase in the number of deep boreholes was from 8,110 in 1991 to 13,583 in 1996 and 14,233 by mid-1998. It is estimated that 48% of the rural population have access to safe drinking water.

Between 1991 and 1998, remarkable progress was made in the number of people getting access to new safe water sources especially in rural areas. By June 1998, 40.5% of the rural population had access to safe water, having risen from 19% in 1991. The chart shows trends in national, rural and urban water coverage. Another notable feature was the involvement of the user community in the operation and maintenance of the water sources.

Rural sanitation coverage is estimated at 45% compared to the target national coverage of 65%. The Ministry of Health and Directorate of Water Development (DWD) adopted an integrated approach whereby sanitation and hygiene education is provided during implementation of sanitation interventions. Other key sanitation activities undertaken are construction of demonstration latrines in public places and institutions and casting of slabs for sale. A major project initiated in 1998/99, in this area, is the 3-year sanitation project in primary schools. Government has also incorporated water and sanitation as a major and high priority component of the Poverty Eradication Action Plan.

iii) Basic Education and Adult literacy

The UNPAC’s target for basic education was to increase access to primary education for school age children from 69% to 95%, and the completion rate of the primary cycle from 32% to 50% of pupils. Government re-affirmed this commitment by declaring the universal primary education for all children aged 6 – 12 years by the year 2003.

The main achievement over the period has been an increase in primary school enrolment from about 2.5 million children in 1994 to 6.9 million in 1999 (SITAN update, 2000). The gross primary school enrolment rate has been increasing over the years as shown by the chart.

The high GER is due to over-aged children in school. There has been an increase in functional literacy rates from 51 per cent in 1992 to about 62 per cent in 1998 of the population over 14 years. The percentage of women functionally literate increased from 37 per cent to 48 per cent over the same period (HDR, 1999). A total of 93,274 adults particularly women (80 per cent) attended adult literacy programmes between 1992 and 1997 (MGLSD, FAL Programme in Uganda 1992-1997).

UNPAC Assessment Report: 1992 – 2000 xxi

Whereas the primary school intake rate by gender is almost the same, the drop-out rate for girls is still higher than for boys especially from primary five onwards. The main reason for primary school drop-out is lack of interest in studies. Other reasons include sickness, work/jobs, lack school fees, marriage/pregnancy and dismissal from schools (MoES, 1999).

Apart from girls in general, other categories of children that currently have difficulty accessing education include: the over-aged children, children with disability, children affected by armed conflict, juvenile offenders, street children and children from semi-nomadic societies.

iv) Child protection

A nationals survey conducted by the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development identified eight issues that still affect children, namely: inadequate health and nutrition; access to education; child abuse and neglect; slow pace in implementation of the Children Statute; handling properties for orphans; increasing number of street children; and adolescent pregnancy. Other issues identified at district and lower levels are presented below:

ISSUES THAT HINDER THE IMPLEMENTATION OF CHILD PROTECTION INTERVENTIONS IN DISTRICTSAttitudinal issues exacerbated by the traditions and customs that negatively influence the way children are perceived.Paltry budgetary allocation to child care and protection. Only about 0.3% of district budget is allocated by District authorities to Probation and Welfare DepartmentPoverty in householdsArmed conflict in parts of northern and western UgandaInadequate capacity at the Probation and Welfare OfficeInadequate responses by other key actors such as the Local Councils, Police, Courts and the community owing to lack of awareness, limited capacity (e.g. leading to infrequent High Court sittings) and weak multi-disciplinary action for childrenIneffective information system characterised by weak or lack of monitoring and evaluation system in all districts; and general lack of complete data on child care and protection issues.The law on defilement is difficult to implement and goes against the principle of discrimination and equality before the law especially as it relates to adolescents involved in consensual sex.

Only a few of the Family and Children Courts (FCCs) in the country are fully operational owing to a number of reasons, namely: distance from the Chief Magistrates’ Courts; with meagre resources, they are unable to sit regularly as the designated Magistrates find it difficult to travel to them; and the limited number of Grade II Magistrates who are expected to preside over the FCCs. In addition, the following factors are noteworthy:

There is unnecessary delay in the disposal of cases of juveniles in remand homes due to delays by the police in carrying out inquiries and diversion of cases away from the Courts by parents or relatives.

Courts have not strictly adhered to the provision that juvenile cases be completed within three months and twelve months for minor and capital offences respectively, otherwise they be dismissed without any further proceedings for the same offence

Children on minor offences are still remanded sometimes in adult prisons

UNPAC Assessment Report: 1992 – 2000 xxii

Implementing the defilement law has proved difficult in view of the cultural and social attitudes and practices.

Society has not adequately developed positive attitudes to children who commit offences – hence diversion of juveniles from the Court process or the rigorous process of trial in Courts not strictly followed or implemented

Release on bail for juveniles not accompanied by parents or guardians has not been easy.

Reasons for shortfalls include:

Slow attitudinal change especially for those used to long-standing rigidities in their way of work. e.g. police, Courts, etc. Moreover, sensitisation efforts have so far reached officials in the higher echelons whose dealing with children issues is limited.

Insufficient sensitisation and training of the stakeholders. Although wide sensitisation on child rights in general and the statute in particular has been conducted in districts, attitude change is a gradual process and it takes a lot of time to realise impact

Inadequate logistical support and resources to advocacy and implementing agents of the Children Statute.

Delays in provision of guidelines and rules to lower local government authorities

Probation officers in the majority of the districts are too few to respond to the demands of the Statute

Coordination of key actors (donors, NGOs and government) on Children Statute at the centre and in districts is not adequate.

4. THE CHALLENGES AND LESSONS LEARNTThe challenges that the UNPAC process faces can be grouped into two, namely: those factors beyond UNPAC, and those that can be realistically addressed within the UNPAC framework.

This assessment highlights persistent poverty with 44% of the population living below the poverty line as the greatest challenge to the promotion of child rights. This is because poverty: limits access to food of desired quantity and quality; limits access to appropriate and affordable health; condemns children to live in unsanitary environment; limits access to information; limits access to legal protection; undermines a few of the initiatives by communities. Poverty is also a major cause of harmful child labour – including slavery, drug trafficking, prostitution, forced labour, bonded labour, and hazardous work; and it undermines family stability.

Consequently, the elimination or at least the substantial reduction of poverty (and hence attainment of economic prosperity) is the key to solving all other socio-economic problems including those of children. In a world that enjoys unprecedented wealth, the plight of 826 million people that are victims of food poverty is a manifestation of serious anomalies in the distribution of resources, income and food within and between countries. The stark reality of persistent poverty calls for two fundamental transformations. One is the translation of national macro-economic stability into micro-level sustainable socio-economic change. The other transformation required is the translation of the unprecedented economic and social development in advanced countries into tangible benefits for the world’s poor. More importantly, the enormous task of the fight against mass poverty requires concrete deeds and obligations.

The assessment highlights “political obligation” and “rights-based” thinking on the part of society and a rights-based societal inspiration as the missing-link between the present national action programmes for children and future desirable fundamental transformation of the children’s situation under the New Global Agenda For Children of the 2000s. This is to say that child rights should be translated not only as commitments but as obligations for all duty-bearers in society. Rectification of this defect calls for a radical restructuring or transformation of strategies and approaches to children’s concerns. This is particularly so with regard to resource mobilisation and its placement on the political and corporate agendas of those responsible for political and private sector governance at international, national and sub-national levels.

UNPAC Assessment Report: 1992 – 2000 xxiii

The third most important challenge and lesson highlighted by the assessment is the tremendous influence of the perception-attitude-cultural practices nexus. Perceptions, attitudes and value systems condition behaviour and change slowly. This means that without a big push for fundamental transformation, the process of social change will be slow. This has been particularly the case with the acceptability of the notion of a right and a rights-based approach. Most authorities and duty bearers who are assumed to be change agents have themselves not internalised the notion of a right and their duty and obligations to the rights’ claimants.

Lack of understanding of child participation by all implementers including families and the children has led to little or no involvement of children in decision-making in issues affecting them.

The fourth most important challenge is that of shocks and disturbances and the vulnerability of the people and programmes to these episodic occurrences. The important lesson here is that preparedness means available capacity to withstand shocks or quick response to abate disaster. For instance, under the UNPAC as it is now, there is no means of quick response to an emergency situation like mass displacement of people, yet women and children are the most vulnerable category of the people in such situation.

The case of HIV/AIDS is a good example of how the expected achievements of a well-planned long-term programme can be undermined by emergencies. The AIDS pandemic has reversed significant progress that had been achieved in many areas of child survival and development leading to slowing down of the reduction in the rates of child mortality, morbidity and malnutrition. The issues of HIV/AIDS mother to child transmission, the increasing number of orphans due to AIDS deaths of parents beyond the traditional foster system etc deserve serious attention in the next programme for children.

The fifth lesson highlighted by the assessment is the criticality of co-ordination. UNPAC envisioned that overall monitoring, coordination and advocacy for the implementation of UNPAC goals would be the responsibility of the National Council for Children (NCC). Line ministries would be responsible for sectoral-level implementation monitoring. Districts would also have a District Plans of Action for Children (DPACs) monitoring system. Review meetings would be the main method used in generating, sharing and disseminating information. Bottlenecks or constraints such as active involvement of line sectors in the coordination, the institutional placement and poor facilitation of NCC need to be seriously reviewed if coordination of a multisectoral child programme is to be effectively strengthened/focused.

The sixth challenge is the issue of capacity which is even more critical at district and lower local government level to which implementation of programmes and delivery of services have been devolved. Although district planning and budgeting is being strengthened, districts still lack the capacity to fully integrate Child Care and Protection issues into their respective district development plans (DDPs). The main reasons for this are: inadequate staff (in terms of quality and quantity), inadequate funds, poor or lack of prioritisation of actions, and lack of awareness and appreciation of the issues affecting children by district authorities. For instance, reproductive health programmes are limited by inadequate resource allocation to the health sector; activities, other than primary-level education, have not been adequately funded; sensitisation of civic leaders especially at community levels on the Children Statute was not fully accomplished.

Other challenges identified and lessons learnt include:

The weak institutions. Weak judiciary systems, corruption and the communities’ strong ties to cultural beliefs in general hamper the eradication of violence against the girl-child and women.

The legal and policy measures described above have not reached all sections of society, especially the isolated rural areas.

UNPAC Assessment Report: 1992 – 2000 xxiv

The persistent cross-border conflicts have undermined peaceful conflict resolution and reduction of human rights abuse in the affected areas. In Uganda, civil strife and displacement of people in some districts have denied children fulfilment of their rights. The challenge of children in military service or captivity or even ending up in slavery as by-products of wars and cross-border conflicts. The real meaning of this challenge is that regional and sub-regional conflicts/crises have implications for the internal situation of countries that constitute the region or sub-region experiencing a crisis.

The absence of a systematic and coherent (multi-sectoral) strategy for the implementation and monitoring of the Children Statute limits its enforcement.

The implementation of a Statute crafted in the usual complicated legal language and terminology whose translation into local languages is either not easy or could lead to distortion of meaning and intentions. The expression Child Rights that, for instance, in Luganda translates to Dembe Ly’abaana has brought up connotations of autonomy or total freedom to even misbehave or disobey their parents or guardians – perceived implications that are unpalatable to most African adults. The language problem compounds the perceptual problem of failure to distinguish between a social service provided as a “right” and what may be available as a charity. This is to say that the concept of a right or child rights has often not been articulated with sufficient clarity.

Despite the improvements registered so far, the right to safe and clean water and adequate sanitation is impeded by a number of constraints, which will need to be overcome to ensure progress. The most important obstacles are:

The very small, and in some cases non-existent, district budgets for water-rendering it to be donor dependent.

Short project implementation periods, which hinders mobilisation and sustainability of interventions

Inadequate manpower at the districts to implement and assist the communities to construct and maintain the protected water sources

The inadequate capacity of districts to develop work plans, and implement Water and Environmental Sanitation interventions.

Although the policy of UPE has gone a long way in ensuring access to basic education for the majority of the primary school age population, a number of obstacles remain to be addressed which include: keeping children who enrol in school; reaching the children who are currently out of school; providing quality education through the provision of a relevant curriculum, adequate instructional materials, the additional classrooms required, management and control of educational institutions including private schools; mobilisation of resources required for implementation of the new primary school curriculum; improvement of co-ordination among key stakeholders; improvement in information management (collection of accurate and appropriately desegregated data); and development of capacity particularly at district level to effectively utilise, supervise and account for resources.

The monetisation of the economy, increased poverty at family level, family breakdown, coupled with the increasing number of orphans due to HIV/AIDS and conflict have negatively impacted on the situation of children. The extended family support system has been overwhelmed and NGOs working to support orphans cannot sufficiently look after all orphaned children. Consequently, the number of homeless and street children has continued to increase.

5. future agendaWhile significant progress was made toward the attainment of the UNPAC goals, it is clear that many of the targets were not realised. Many policies have not yet led to sustainable results and have not been translated into lasting social change. Unfulfilled commitments and insufficient resource allocations have

UNPAC Assessment Report: 1992 – 2000 xxv

meant that the progress towards national targets and WSC goals have been slow and the positive change will take time to make impact. By the end of UNPAC decade, 44% of the Ugandan population were living below the absolute poverty line. HIV/AIDS and civil strife have exacerbated the situation of children: nearly 1.7 million children have been orphaned by AIDS and more than 10,000 children have been abducted from Uganda and some recruited as child soldiers. This situation poses major challenges and calls for greater commitment to the cause of children in terms of policy, resource allocation and change in societal values. Thus the proposals for the way forward are:

i) Since persistent poverty is the greatest challenge and impediment to the attainment of children rights, poverty reduction should continue to be a top-order priority at all levels of promotion of development and resource allocation. Programmes that improve the earnings of the poor such as the Poverty Eradication Action Plan, Uganda’s Plan for Modernization of Agriculture and NGO programmes targeting poverty should receive every support they can get at national and sub-national levels and from Uganda’s development partners. Similarly, measures that can address capital and product market constraints would help the children’s cause both in the short, medium and long terms.

ii) There is an urgent need to widen the network of stakeholders to include private sector entrepreneurs to focus on children’s rights and needs. Children’s issues need to be reframed and placed properly in the national framework for poverty reduction – the Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP). However, there is need for an all-embracing new Agenda For Children’s issues touching on their basic needs, protection and care, rights and avenues for involvement in decision-making regarding matters affecting them. This National Policy Framework should replace UNPAC to guide and direct decisions on child issues at national and lower levels for the next decade.

iii) Raising public awareness should be intensified to address the perception–attitude–cultural practices nexus. This should include the sensitisation of civic leaders, duty bearers in institutions, agencies of law and order, the judiciary, communities and the general populace. This should be treated a core element in the quest for the creation and building of a culture and environment where children can be given the priority they deserve so that they grow up to realise their full potential.

iv) A big and effective push for children’s rights requires not only commitment, especially from political and civic society perspectives, but also resources which reflect on obligations. There is, therefore, need to significantly step up advocacy for resources for the children’s cause at international, national and sub-national levels. This essentially requires that the lobbying and advocacy for the children’s cause be brought to the political and corporate agendas of the controllers of resource allocation - political leaders, legislators, private sector entrepreneurs and other policy-makers or advisors at all levels. Inadequacy of resources undermines initiatives and implementation efforts and processes. Specific and adequate allocation should be made in national and local government budgets for child-based development programmes.

v) Increasing the education and learning of children will be continued through increased school enrolments but also through improved education curriculum quality and a highly trained team of teachers, which are essential to their development and will help to impart skills and improve retention, hence decreasing child labour. Although the cost of primary level education has generally been reduced through Universal Primary Education (UPE), issues of quality (i.e. basic inputs like safe water and sanitation, lunches, text books etc.) is a serious disincentive to households or families to send children to school. The issue of education quality under UPE is being seriously addressed by Government and development partners and will continue to be top on the government agenda during the 2000s.

vi) As we pursue the child rights approach in programming, issues of monitoring and coordination at all levels need to be supported and emphasized to ensure equitable distribution of available resources and universal benefit of all children in Uganda. Improved capacity building and networking processes will enhance this and record-keeping and reporting by stakeholders at all levels would also enhance the cost-effectiveness of interventions.

UNPAC Assessment Report: 1992 – 2000 xxvi

vii) Implementers of CRC/UNPAC need to be cognizant of emerging issues in programming in order to address issues that affect children and the society. The rate at which families are disintegrating, the increasing number of prostitutes (including child prostitutes) in our urban centres, chronically displaced children, the trafficking of children for various reasons, increased exposure to pornography and child abuse through the media – still impinge on children’s enjoyment of their rights and welfare and need to be tackled in the relevant interventions.

viii) Community participation under a demand-driven/negotiation approach is vital to the provision of services. First, because it ensures that communities use the preferred technologies at costs corresponding to the local users’ needs and ability to run. Secondly, the decentralisation of services usually leads to a reduction of costs for service delivery and to community ownership and sustainability of those services.

ix) Ownership of the UNPAC process (i.e. translating UNPAC goals into district plans and implementing them) can be ensured only through the involvement of the local (district, sub-county) civic leadership. Children’s issues must remain high on the development agenda. For this to happen, the capacities of both the Secretaries for Children and the National Council for Children need to be strengthened to effectively play the role of custodian (ombudsperson) of the rights of children.

x) The process of collection, analysis and utilization of data should be institutionalised so that it becomes a continuous and integral part of the administration and management of the development process instead of having it on project basis. In this connection, the current definition of children (age 0 – 18 years) masks enormous variations in terms of needs. Desegregating data according to age and sex would better inform policy development for addressing children’s issues.

xi) Children need to be actively involved in matters and processes affecting them. The focus should be on increasing and enhancing child participation. To this end, more innovative ways need to be devised (e.g. children debates, essays, drama, music, art, competitions and festivals etc) for eliciting their views on issues that are relevant to their situation.

Annex i: UNPAC ASSESSMENT participantsASSESSMENT CONSULTANTS (IDEAS)

1. Prof. Jossy Bibangambah Team Leader2. Sekatawa E (Ph.D.) Associate consultant

NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR CHILDREN1. Rev. Dr. Kefa Sempangi Chairman2. Mrs Harriet Mugerwa Secretary General3. Dr. Hitimana Lukanika Deputy Secretary General4. Ms Hilda Nankunda Programme Officer, Planning, Research and Data Management

UNICEF1. Mr. Adamasu UNICEF, New York2. Mr. David Pulkol UNICEF ESARO3. Mr Michel Sidibe Country Representative, Uganda4. Mr Ushari Mahmud UNICEF - Nairobi5. Mrs Grace Ekudu UNICEF - Kampala

GOVERNMENT OF UGANDA1. Mr. Willie Otim Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development2. Mr. I. Magona Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development3. Mr. Deo Waiswa Ministry of Local Government4. Dr. Abongomera Ministry of Health5. Mr. Watson Wakholi Directorate of Water Development

UNPAC Assessment Report: 1992 – 2000 xxvii

6. Mr Carthbert Mulyalya Ministry of Education and Sports7. Ms. Elizabeth Imagara Ministry of Local Government8. Mr. Joseph Kayuza Decentralisation Secretariat9. Ms. Awino Margaret Ministry of Foreign Affairs10. Ms. Grace Choda Ministry of Local Government11. Mr. D.K Kasangaki Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries12. Ms. Rossette Nyirinkindi Ministry of Foreign Affairs13. Mr. A.N. Kalule Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries

DISTRICTS1. Mr. Joseph Ekallam Soroti2. Mr. Lomma P. Limlim Moroto3. Ms. Betty Abito Moroto4. Mr. S. Ogwel-Loote Moroto5. Mr M.N. Menya Iganga6. Mr. Y. M. Lukwitira Iganga7. Mr. Elias Jjuko Masaka8. Mr. Robert Kyewalabye Masaka9. The District Planner Kasese10. The Probation and Welfare Officer Luwero

NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS1. Mr. Baker Yiga Save the Children Denmark2. Mr. P.T. Kakama Save the Children UK3. Ms. Margaret N. Njeri Save the Children Norway4. Dr. Fillipo Cantia AVSI5. Mrs. Jolly Nyeko Feed the Children Uganda6. Mr. Joseph K.A. Tumusiime NETWAS Uganda7. Mr. W. Kawoya NETWAS Uganda8. Mr. Lawrence Mayanja Friends of Children Association9. B. Bamanya RUWASA Mbale10. Ms. A. Kampire FIDA (U)11. Ms. Harriet Nabunya UCBHCA12. E. Lakidi World Vision

Media Organisations

1. E Lackid New Vision2 L Okumu The People3 D Okiror Voice of Kigezi4 S Kayiwa Power FM5 E Jjuuko Uganda Confidential6 A Kigozi Central Broadcasting Service7 F Kyeyune Freelance Photographer

Annex II: List of Documents Reviewed 1. Barton. T., & Mutiti. A. (1998). Northern Uganda Psychosocial Needs Assessment. Kampala:

Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development

2. Carlos Castillo and Claire Akehurst (July 1994). An overview of the NPA Decentralisation in Developing Countries: Basic Data, Dlg6. Florence, Italy.

3. Dr. Sempangi K. (September, 1999). Early Childhood Development Advocacy Strategy in Uganda. A paper presented at the International Early Childhood Care and Development Conference, Kampala: National Council for Children.

4. Erla Hallorsdottir (October 2000). The Orphans of Uganda. A Report of how they Experience their Situation. Reykjavik, Iceland.

5. FIDA (1997). Baseline survey report on Girl Child Sexual Abuse. Kampala: FIDA(U)/UNICEF.

6. FOCA (June, 1999). Baseline Survey Report on Street Children in Kampala. A Survey report. Kampala: Friends of Children Association.

UNPAC Assessment Report: 1992 – 2000 xxviii

7. GoU (January, 1998). Uganda’s Report and Position on Child Labour. Kampala: Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development.

8. GoU/UNICEF (July 1997). The Influence of the District Plans of Action for Children on District Development Planning and Resource Allocation. A Mid-term Review Study. Kampala: Government of Uganda – UNICEF Country Programme 1995 – 2000.

9. GoU/UNICEF (1998). Country Programme Progress Report 1998. Kampala: Government of Uganda – UNICEF Country Programme 1995 – 2000.

10. GoU/UNICEF (1999). Country Programme Progress Report 1999. Kampala: Government of Uganda – UNICEF Country Programme 1995 – 2000.

11. GoU/UNICEF (November, 1999). Summary report on the Government of Uganda/UNICEF Country Programme 2001 – 2005 Strategy Meeting. Kampala: UNICEF.

12. Mbale District (August 1997). Mbale District Local Government Five Year Development Plan 1997 – 2001. Mbale District Development Committee.

13. MFPED (1992). The Uganda National Programme of Action for Children. A social sector planning framework. Kampala: Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning.

14. MFPED (July 1998). Uganda National Household Survey 1995/96. Entebbe: Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development.

15. MFPED (1999). Uganda Participatory Poverty Assessment. Key findings. Kampala: Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning.

16. MFPED (June 1998). Background to the Budget 1998/1999. Budgeting for poverty reduction. Kampala: Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning.

17. MFPED (June 1999). Background to the Budget 1999/2000. Kampala: Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning.

18. MFPED (June 2000). Background to the Budget 2000/01. Increasing Efficiency in Poverty Reduction Service Delivery through Output Oriented Budgeting. Kampala: Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning.

19. MFPED (1999, February). Vision 2025: A strategic framework for national development. Kampala: Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development.

20. MG&CD (June, 1997). Addendum to the Initial Uganda Country Report on the Implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Kampala: Ministry of Gender and Community Development.

21. MGL&SD (March, 1999). A Situation Analysis of Child Care and Protection Issues in Relation to District Authorities. A Situation Analysis Report. Kampala: Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development.

22. MoES (1999). National Strategy for Girls’ Education in Uganda. Kampala: Ministry of Education and Sports.

23. MoES (March, 2000). Third ESIP Review. Six monthly report. Kampala: Ministry of Education and Sports.

24. MoES (November, 1999). Education for All (EFA) 2000 Assessment. An Assessment report. Kampala: Ministry of Education and Sports.

25. MoES (1999). 1998 Educational Statistical Abstract. Kampala: Education Planning Department, Ministry of Education and Sports.

26. MoH (2000). Health Sector Strategic Plan. Ministry of Health.

27. MPED (December 1997). Uganda National Household Survey 1994-95). Second Monitoring Survey. Entebbe: Ministry of Planning and Economic Development.

28. MWL&E (1999). A National Water Policy. Kampala: Ministry of Water, Lands and Environment.

29. NCC (November, 1995). District Plans of Action for Children Review Meeting held in Hoima. A workshop report. Kampala: National Council for Children.

30. NCC (November, 1995). A Report on the National Consensus Conference on the Situation of Women and Children in Uganda. A workshop report. Kampala: National Council for Children.

UNPAC Assessment Report: 1992 – 2000 xxix

31. NCC (April, 1997). Post DPAC & SPAC Launching. Planning meeting for Kabale, Ntungamo and Rukungiri Districts. Kampala: National Council for Children.

32. NCC (June, 1999). Child Rights Monitoring Indicators. Kampala: National Council for Children.

33. NCC (November, 1999). Commitment to Children by end of the Century. A report on the implementation of the Uganda National Programme of Action for Children (UNPAC) 1990/91 to June 1998. Kampala: National Council for Children.

34. NCC (November, 1999). Commitment to Children by end of the Century. A report on the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child from 1990 - 1999. Kampala: National Council for Children.

35. NCC (February, 1999). Uganda National Programme of Action for Children Review and Update. Kampala: National Council for Children.

36. NCC (April, 1999). Regional Consensus Conference for Central Region. A workshop report. Kampala: National Council for Children.

37. NCC (May, 1999). District Plans of Action for Children Review Meeting for the Districts of Mbale, Iganga, Kapchorwa and Pallisa. A workshop report. Kampala: National Council for Children.

38. NCC (May, 1999). District Plans of Action for Children Review Meeting for the Districts of Soroti, Lira, Kumi and Kotido. A workshop report. Kampala: National Council for Children.

39. Ntungamo District. Ntungamo Local Government Three Year District Development Plan 1998 – 2001. Ntungamo District Local Government.

40. UAC (2000). The National Strategic Framework for HIV/AIDS Activities in Uganda (2000/1 – 2005/6). Kampala: Uganda AIDS Commission.

41. UBOS (July, 1999). 1999 Statistical Abstract. Entebbe: Uganda Bureau of Statistics.

42. UBOS (June, 200). 2000 Statistical Abstract. Entebbe: Uganda Bureau of Statistics.

43. UDHS (August, 1996). Demographic and Health Survey 1995. Entebbe: Statistics Department, Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning.

44. UNICEF (September 1998). Action Plans for Accelerating Implementation of Programme Priorities, 1998 – 2000. Basic Education Child Care and Adolescent Development Programme (BECCAD). Kampala: UNICEF.

45. UNICEF (2000). Common Country Assessment Paper. Kampala.

Annex III: Terms of reference 1 BACKGROUND

As part of the WSC Plan of Action, the Government of Uganda prepared the Uganda National Programme of Action (UNPAC) for the implementation of the commitments undertaken for children and consideration to accord higher priority to programmes for children under the principle of “Fast call for Children”. The Government also created the National Council for Children, an institution to co-ordinate and monitor the implementation of the UNPAC through its being decentralised to local governments as well as NGOs, as abroad participatory process and building of partnerships for children. The WSC was the first global conference to require such national follow up planning processes, with national programmes of action (UNPAC) expected to play a central role in implementation of the WSC Declaration and Plan of Action.

Efforts are now underway for an assessment of progress made for children over the cost of the past decade, an analysis of difficulties encountered, and an identification of lesson learned. This is occurring as processes got underway for development of new global agenda for children for the next decade, with the results of assessment expected to inform future actions. UNICEF –Uganda has been requested to prepare a report to contribute to the Secretary – General’s report on progress at end- decade, to be completed by June 2001 for presentation to a Special Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGASS) in the fall of 2001.

One element identified for review and assessment is the UNPAC process, with the focus to be on drawing of lessons from the experience as a means of identifying possible strategies and approaches for the future.

UNPAC Assessment Report: 1992 – 2000 xxx

In this respect, retrospective analysis is to be given a prospective thrust as the new global agenda for children is established.

2 STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES

To identify processes, mechanisms and strategies rising from the WSC follow-up that may be of potential utility in the development and implementation of the New Global Agenda for children through:- Assessment of progress and constraints in the UNPAC process as a

means of indicating policies for children at national and sub-national level;- Examination of the degree to which and the manner in which UNPAC processes have promoted

realisation of children’s rights.

3 USE OF THE ASSESSMENT A To provide input into Secretary’s report for the UN Special Session to review progress on WSC goals.B To inform discussions of possible modalities to promote continued action on children’s rights on

national and sub-national level, including in the context of New Global Agenda for Children.4 KEY ISSUES FOR ANALYSISA Lessons learned in UNPAC development and implementation as instruments to influence public

policy, mobilise resources, and create wider awareness of children’s rights and issues.B Lessons learned from UNPAC experience in establishing or strengthening partnerships for action

on children’s issues within government, within civil society and government, and with UN and other International Development partners?

C Lessons learned from UNPAC as tools to promote and improve the availability and use of data on women and children.

D Lessons learned from UNPAC process in promoting a rights- based focus and implementation of CRC.

5 METHODOLOGY1 Desk review: UNPAC, UNICEF Executive Board Papers (WSC Follow- up): SG’s reports to the GA; State

Party (Uganda) reports to the CRC Committee; ICDC assessment of UNPAC decentralisation; MPO, GoU- UNICEF annual reports, Situation Analysis of Children and Women 1994, 20/20 Initiative Report, Poverty Eradication Action Plan, Uganda Poverty Status Report, Report on the Implementation, of the UN CRC by National Council of Children (NCC), MTR study of DPAC, UNPAC up-dates (97, 98), SITAN up- date 97, 2000, Common Country Assessment Paper (CCA).

2 Interviews and information- exchange with key informants: Staff in selected districts, ministries, Institutions, (NCC etc), NGOs, UNICEF (participating on a voluntary basis) and any other officials associated with UNPAC.

UNPAC Assessment Report: 1992 – 2000 xxxi

ASSESSMENT OF PROGRESS AND PERFORMANCE OF THE

UGANDA NATIONAL PROGRAMME OF ACTION FOR CHILDREN (UNPAC): 1992 -

2000

BY

UNICEF Uganda Government of UgandaKisozi House - Nakasero National Council for ChildrenP.O. BOX 7047 P.O. BOX 21456Kampala Kampala

March 2001