Project Launch: Parenting Agenda for Uganda

PROJECT BRIEF

Parenting in Uganda remains a priority intervention area for the wellbeing of Children, a need affirmed by the high levels of Violence against Children (VAC) as per findings of the 2015 National VAC Survey .While there exists numerous parenting interventions, these are institutional and project based with limited documented scientific evidence on what is working. Consequently, there exists no clear strategic direction on the parenting agenda in Uganda. In addition, while 2017 was declared the year of family in Uganda, not much has been achieved to date in terms of shaping the parenting agenda in the country leaving a vacuum on the future of the parenting agenda.
In 2018, the Child Health and Development Centre (CHDC) within the College of Health Sciences Makerere University applied for a grant from the Oak Foundation to support Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD) in providing leadership in development of a parenting agenda in the country. The process is envisaged to involve rallying institutions implementing parenting interventions towards visioning, generating and systematizing evidence based parenting programmes in Uganda. This is a three year project (2019-2020).
The project is expected among to deliver the following results:
1. A national parenting strategy developed through consensus building on the strategic direction for enhancing parenting initiatives in Uganda
2. An inventory of parenting initiatives in Uganda compiled and maintained
3. A synthesis of existing research evidence on the most effective parenting interventions in Sub Saharan Africa punctuated with case examples from Uganda
4. Compiled research evidence on effective parenting interventions disseminated to key stakeholders
5. Strengthened networking among institutions implementing parenting interventions in Uganda
6. National parenting guidelines developed by MGLSD reprinted and disseminated across sectors and levels
7. Key stakeholders capacity on parenting strengthened

The project shall be implemented with a consortium of institutions and agencies currently involved in parenting work.