Uganda

We Effect in Uganda works through local partners to support sustainable rural development, adequate housing, women’s rights, gender equality, and youth entrepreneurship. Our Kampala-based office is actively involved in establishing housing cooperatives to improve access to decent homes, mobilizing grassroots efforts, and influencing national decision-makers. Additionally, we have contributed to a report on human rights in Uganda submitted to the UN Human Rights Council.

Our initiatives focus on providing people living in poverty, especially women and youth, with access to financial services like savings, loans, and insurance. This support aims to enable business startups and investments, improve living conditions, and promote fair-priced insurance for those without social security networks.

Our work also assist farmers in enhancing agricultural productivity and sustainability by supporting small-scale producers. Our efforts include promoting resilient livelihoods, increasing food security, and encouraging youth involvement in agribusiness. A key part of our strategy is fostering a positive shift in agribusiness attitudes among young people while focusing on empowering women in rural communities.

In Uganda, with a population of approximately 51.2 million, We Effect is dedicated to promoting sustainable rural development, adequate housing, women’s rights, gender equality, and youth entrepreneurship. Operating from Kampala, the organization works to establish housing cooperatives that offer decent homes to more people while influencing national policies. Additionally, We Effect supports financial inclusion by providing access to savings, loans, and insurance for impoverished women and youth, enabling them to start businesses and improve their living conditions. The organization also focuses on agricultural development, aiding small-scale farmers to increase productivity and ensure food security, with special emphasis on empowering women and engaging youth in agribusiness.

Despite progress in certain areas, Uganda faces substantial challenges. The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) indicates that about 27% of the population is multidimensionally poor, with a national poverty rate of 42.1%. Food insecurity remains a significant issue, particularly in districts hosting refugees, where erratic weather and low purchasing power contribute to food consumption gaps. In terms of nutrition, while Uganda has made strides in addressing some issues, 25.4% of children under five still suffer from stunting, and obesity rates are rising, affecting both adults and children.

Housing continues to be a critical problem in Uganda, with a backlog of approximately 1.6 million units. This deficit is exacerbated by challenges related to land access and inadequate housing policies, which leave many low-income families in poor or unfinished homes. The urban housing deficit is particularly severe, with a significant need for affordable housing solutions. Addressing this issue is vital for improving living conditions and providing security for low-income communities.

The country also contends with internal displacement caused by natural disasters and conflicts. In 2021, around 656,000 people were displaced by disasters such as floods and landslides, while 4,800 were displaced by conflict. Uganda’s climate vulnerability is marked by increased frequency and severity of extreme weather events, which contribute to displacement and exacerbate existing challenges. Additionally, gender inequality persists, with 34.9% of parliamentary seats held by women and ongoing gaps in legal frameworks and gender-related indicators. Tackling these issues requires comprehensive and sustainable approaches to enhance the well-being of Uganda’s most vulnerable populations.

Results in East Africa

• The total number of people reached by the partner organisations in East Africa stood at 62,634 in 2023
• A total of 39 partner organizations (POs), 15 in Kenya, 12 in Tanzania and 12 in Uganda are involved in the implementation of the programme. Although all partners are member based , 25 are majorly cooperatives and are the core partners.
• Through the Leadership for Change (LFC) program a total of 80 staff and board members of cooperative organizations were equipped with organizational development and governance skills.
• Women in leadership positions in East Africa increased from 42.2% in 2022 to 48.75% by end of 2023
• 55 gender champions, key opinion leaders, and duty bearers received capacity development trainings on Gender equality awareness equipping them with knowledge on gender issues, transformative approaches, and addressing sexual and gender-based violence to integrate gender equality within their organizations, 22 clergy members on preventing SGBV and promoting gender justice, and 132 duty bearers (65 females, 67 males) on SGBV prevention and response.
• To enhance resilience and minimize climate risk, the program in East Africa trained partner organizations on microinsurance and linked them to insurance service providers. The number of individuals with various forms of insurance coverage increased from 1,6357 (11,534M: 4,823F) in 2022 to 1,004,538 (752,379M; 252,159F) by end of 2023.
• Ninety-five percent (95%) of core partners in East Africa carried out simplified Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) – The ESIA findings showed that the established partners’ projects do not pose serious/critical environmental and gender concerns. ESIA, however, identified medium environmental and gender concerns that projects should address during the implementation phase. Several cases of gender inequalities, such as low participation in leadership and decision-making by women, harmful patriarchal attitudes, norms, and beliefs, heavy women workloads, unequal power relations, and vulnerability, limited access to land and other productive resources, low-income level, and Gender-based violence (GBVs) were cited.
• The membership of housing cooperatives we work with in East Africa increased from 1,224 to 19,095. This is because of the great interest members in VSLAs have shown in joining housing cooperatives as well.
• The number of houses constructed with the support of the East Africa Partner Organizations in housing cooperatives increased from 306 in 2022 to 674 units.
• Advancement towards the right to adequate housing was made through the construction and improvements of 674 houses whereby 599 were build/ improved in Tanzania; 378 by the Tanzania Home Economics (TAHEA) and 221 houses by the Mwanza Rural Housing Programme (MRHP) and the rest in Uganda-by-Uganda Housing Cooperative Union Limited.
• Noteworthy is that some of the improvements involved changing the roofing from grass to iron sheets, water harvesting from the roofs, plastering completed houses, building ferrocement water tanks, or supplying plastic water tanks among other actions.