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Uganda

Photo: UNICEF/Kabuye

Updates

UBOS developed a Strategy for the Development of Gender Statistics that was integrated into its Extended PNSD II. Through UN Women’s technical and financial support, UBOS assisted 29 ministries and agencies and 16 local government entities to develop statistical plans to increase the production and use of gender data, resulting in a complete mainstreaming of gender in the national statistical system.
UBOS and the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) harmonized its National Standard Indicators framework with the SDGs, which resulted in an increase in the number of NPGEIs from 106 to 140 – all of which are now routinely monitored. This was also made possible by UN Women’s support for the creation of the national multisector SDG Data Technical Working Group.
UBOS was supported to conduct its first-ever Time Use Survey in 2017-18. The results, expected to be published in the third quarter of 2019, will be widely disseminated, including through policy dialogues and round-table discussions.
Following the National Governance Peace and Security Survey conducted in 2017 by UBOS, UN Women supported data analysis and the report’s publication. Gender equality concerns were addressed in this survey for the first time, including attitudes towards gender equality, paid and unpaid work, women’s interest and participation in politics, and violence against women in public and private spheres.
After support for the reprocessing of data from recent surveys and administrative data systems, UBOS can now generate data for 57 per cent of the NPGEIs (80 of the 140 indicators), bringing the Government closer to its objective of increasing the production and use of gender data in policy, planning and gender equality monitoring.
Building on the international capacity-building programme pioneered by Statistics Sweden, 35 data producers are being supported by UN Women to improve their gender statistics skills. A similar training for 17 members of civil society organizations also took place. Through a long-term mentorship programme, each trainee developed an issue paper that was presented in February 2019.

Progress of the Women Count project in Uganda

For detailed results go to the annual report

0-19% 20-39% 40-59% 60-79% 80-100%

Country Fact Sheet

How are we making women count in Uganda?

Photo: UNICEF/AbdulPhoto: UNICEF/Abdul

Jeska Beruchan, the deputy headteacher of Maaji II Seed Secondary School. She says the school works with parents to help them find a way of letting their children focus on their studies. These include reducing the chores they have to do at home so that they have more time to read.

Create an Enabling Environment

The challenges

Although a stand-alone strategy to produce gender statistics was developed in 2012, it is not yet fully integrated into Uganda’s Plan for National Statistical Development (PNSD). There has been inconsistent and unpredictable financial and technical support for gender data, and the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) lacks specialized staff to integrate the gender statistical system, liaise with or validate gender data produced by ministries, departments and agencies.

The Women Count response includes

Addressing gaps in legal frameworks, policies and practices that limit the sustained production and use of gender data at all levels, including revising the Extended PNSD and aligning it with the National Development Plan;

Mainstreaming the endorsed National Priority Gender Equality Indicators (NPGEIs) within the national statistical system and ensuring that relevant indicators are integrated in sector workplans; and

Strengthening the capacity of relevant data-producing entities and supporting coordination between data users and producers.

Increase Data Production

The challenges

Gender data is quite limited, with baseline information available for only half of the indicators in Tier 1. Even where it can be obtained from surveys, data is not disaggregated at district level, limiting its usability. Furthermore, much of the available gender statistics in Uganda are descriptive, with little in-depth analysis. Finally, there are severe capacity gaps, including staffing levels, lack of appreciation of gender data and limited skills for its production.

The Women Count response includes

Developing new surveys in key areas such as time use, violence against women and girls and governance, peace and security – where there are key data gaps;

Supporting ministries, departments and agencies to update data-collection tools, methods and standards; and

Periodically supporting the reprocessing of existing data to update the National Priority Gender Equality Indicators and supporting more in-depth data analyses of existing and upcoming surveys.

Photo: Stephan Gladieu / World Bank

Teddy Nakayiwa, 42, has eight children, farms, runs a small shop, and practices animal husbandry in the small rural community of Kantuule, Uganda. She also participates in a project to help women in Uganda unleash the power of the orange-fleshed sweet potato and other bio-fortified crops to fight child malnutrition.

Improve Data Accessibility & Use

The challenges

Despite improvements in Uganda’s data dissemination, significant barriers to accessing gender data remain. Statistics are not processed and shared in a user-friendly manner, and there is a lack of institutional, financial and technical capacity to validate and widely disseminate data online. UBOS lacks the capacity to report systematically and periodically to the international statistical system, a critical flaw that leads to data discrepancies between national and international sources, undermining trust in official statistics.

The Women Count response includes

Supporting the wider dissemination of data, policy briefs and research and producing analytic reports on women and the NPGEIs and the SDGs;

Disseminating SDG data through publications, including a Population Census Gender Monograph;

Institutionalizing various user-producer dialogues, including the Annual Gender Statistics Forum; and

Conducting tailor-made trainings on gender statistics for data users and producers.

Highlights

Assessment|SDG monitoring

Status of Sustainable Development Goals Data and Statistics in Uganda

16 Feb 2023

People in Uganda commemorate the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence with a bike ride. Photo: UN Women/Martin Ninsiima

Impact story|Ending violence against women

Uganda’s violence against women survey heralds legislative and policy changes

22 Nov 2022

Survey report|Data use

Statistical evidence of women's use and experience of public transport in Kampala and Nairobi

03 Dec 2021

Survey report|Gender and COVID-19

COVID-19 Rapid Gender Assessment (Uganda)

26 May 2021

Report|Gender data production and collection

Capacity Building Programme for Gender Statistics 2018-2023

01 Dec 2018

Strategy|Data use

Advocacy and Dissemination Strategy for Gender Statistics 2018/19 – 2019/20

01 Mar 2018

Assessment|Gender data production and collection

Assessment of the framework for sustained production of gender statistics in Uganda

15 Mar 2017