KAMPALA: The UN Women in partnership with the Embassy of Norway and the Embassy of Japan will on Wednesday, June 8, 2022, launch and have inception meetings for the LEAP II programme at the national level (Kampala), as well as in the districts of Terego and Kyegegwa.
The national launch of LEAP II will take place at Silver Springs Bugolobi in Kampala City on Wednesday, June 8, 2022. The other launches will take place on Friday in Kyegegwa at Kyaka II Refugee Settlement, in Terego on Tuesday, June 13.
The objectives of the launch and inception event is to introduce to the key stakeholders the LEAP II (Enhanced Women’s Leadership, Empowerment, Access, and Protection) programme in Uganda’s Refugee Response under the CRRF: Phase II’ 2021-2025” funded by Embassy of Norway.
The inception event is aiming at introducing to the key stakeholders the LEAP II project funded Embassy of Japan titled “Protection, Leadership, and Empowerment of vulnerable women, men, and youth affected by COVID-19 refugee Settlements in Uganda.
The events will create an opportunity to share the successes achieved and lessons learn learned during the project implementation under LEAP I, present key features of the LEAP II program, raise awareness of the importance of gender in the refugee response as well as secure support for the LEAP II program by key stakeholders.
The UN Women LEAP Programme in Uganda aims to support Uganda in the implementation of the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF) and the Global Compact on Refugees (2018) objectives and further development of an integrated and development-led approach to refugee-hosting areas supporting both refugee and host populations.
Uganda’s Action Plan to implement the CRRF (2021-2022) is based on principles of gender equality and women’s empowerment and recognizes that the needs of women, men, boys, and girls of refugee and host communities are different and specific, and as such require to be specifically identified and addressed, primarily through enhanced Age, Diversity and Gender Mainstreaming (AGDM) analysis.
The LEAP II program extension titled Enhanced Women’s Leadership, Empowerment, Access, and Protection (LEAP) in Uganda’s Refugee Response under the CRRF: Phase II’ 2021-2025; is funded by the Norwegian Embassy and will be implemented for 4 years.
The LEAP II Project will contribute to, among others, ensuring that Uganda’s Humanitarian and Refugee response planning, frameworks, and programming are gender-inclusive and responsive, while the LEAP Japan Project is aimed at strengthening the protection, leadership, and empowerment of vulnerable women, men and youth affected by COVID-19 living in the refugee settlements in Uganda.
This programme will contribute to the immediate lifesaving and emergency needs of 6,360 (30 percent hosts) as direct beneficiaries in Kyegegwa, Yumbe, and Adjumani refugee-hosting districts.
It will ensure that refugee women and girls are protected from the impacts of the emergency refugee crisis, and COVID-19 through the provision of gender-responsive COVID-19 services, protection and, enhancing women’s leadership, capacity development, and peaceful co-existence for better recovery and resilience
The Program for the National Level Launch at Silver Springs in Bugolobi, Kampala, will start at 8:00 AM and end at noon. It will involve welcome and opening remarks by UN Women and Norway, a keynote address by Guest of Honour (PM/ Minister for Refugees), and a High-Level Panel Discussion on Opportunities and Challenges for Gender and the Refugee Response in Uganda.