Uganda Elections: the results are in, but what does this mean for children?

After much campaigning, debate and speculation, Yoweri Museveni has won the Ugandan Presidential Elections for the fourth time in a row. But what does this mean for 57% of Uganda’s population – its children...?

The answer is, we don’t yet know. BUT...What we do know is that before the elections the Ugandan Government launched a National Strategic Plan for providing comprehensive services to orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs). The National Strategic Plan states that the government is not able to meet its mandate for providing for all children and currently only reaches 11% of all vulnerable children with any form of support. So the government has appealed to civil society and to faith-based organisations to work with them in the huge task that lies ahead. The country has been given large grants for improving education and health and Viva hopes to partner and support them in the delivery of this.

Our partner networks in Uganda are hoping to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the government to have the work they do for children at risk recognised officially. Isobel Booth-Clibborn (Regional Co-ordinator of Viva Africa) and Rudo Kwaramba (National Director of World Vision) recently met with the Archbishop of Uganda to share and discuss what the country is doing for Uganda’s children. At the meeting Archbishop Orombi said, “The most significant thing any leader can do is to invest in youth and children.” He said he was encouraged to see more of his diocese taking this seriously.

Viva believes there is great value in equipping the church as a key partner, through networking, to make a difference in the lives of children at risk across the country, through different denominations as well as grass roots churches.

On a further note, Kampala was supposed to be hearing the results of its mayoral elections today, which could also potentially have a big impact on the children of Uganda, however, they have been cancelled due to "alleged rigging" and "ensuing violence", with the new date to "be communicated later".

Keep an eye on the Viva blog to see where all this takes us and the children of Uganda….