Situation analySiS

Situation analySiS of Children in uganda 2015forewordsPoverty affects people of all ages, but children are the single most affectedgroup. Children living in poverty experience deprivation, exclusionand vulnerability, and also face multidimensional circumstances thatcreate lifelong difficulties in gaining access to their basic rights. Povertyalso denies children their rights and deprives them of their physical,psychological and intellectual development.Effects of deprivation in childhood can be irreversible and the impacts of child poverty canlast a lifetime, with poor children likely to become poor during their adulthood and havepoor children themselves, reinforcing the intergenerational cycle of poverty. In addition,poverty is one of the root causes of violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect of children,such as child labour, trafficking, sexual exploitation and child marriage.With close to 60% of the population below 18 years of age, and over 75% below the ageof 35 years, our children’s cognitive development represents Uganda’s greatest naturalresource. Moreover, Uganda’s vision to become a middle-income country by 2040 remainshighly contingent upon our collective ability to safeguard children’s right to contribute tonational development.This Situation Analysis focuses entirely on the fulfillment of children’s rights as enshrined inthe UN Convention on the Rights of the Child ratified by Uganda in 1990. In addition, througha disaggregated assessment of the status and trends of the realisation of children’s rights,and a detailed analysis of the immediate, underlying and structural causes of shortfallsand economic disparities, it provides key policy recommendations for equity-sensitive andchild-friendly policies, programmes and budget allocations.I implore all our partners in the promotion and protection of children’s rights to use thisreport to inform their interventions in order to improve the wellbeing of all the children inUganda. Special attention should be addressed to implementing the policy recommendationsmade in this report.I congratulate my colleagues, UNICEF, the members of the steering committee and allstakeholders for your active and relentless engagement in the promotion and protection ofchildren’s rights in Uganda.Wilson Muruuli MukasaMINISTER OF GENDER, LABOUR AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENTx