OVER 4,000 GIRLS EMPOWERED AS KCCA WINDS UP GEG PROGRAMME

The Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) and development partners have closed the Girls Empowering Girls (GEG) programme after seven years of implementation, hailing it as a landmark urban social protection model that has reshaped how vulnerable adolescent girls in Kampala access education, skills, and economic opportunity.

The high-level closure ceremony held at City Hall on Friday was presided over by Vice President Jessica Alupo under the theme “Empowered Girls, Resilient Futures: Celebrating Impact and Inspiring the Next Generation.”

Implemented by KCCA with support from UNICEF and the Government of Belgium, the programme, launched in 2019 targeted adolescent girls in and out of school, particularly those from high-dropout parishes and households affected by multidimensional poverty.

Vice President Jessica Alupo commended the programme’s impact and called on beneficiaries to sustain the gains made.

“I would like to thank KCCA and UNICEF for successfully implementing this programme,” Alupo said. “These girls must remain committed to their education and use the skills they have acquired to transform their lives and their communities. They should become ambassadors of change.”

She added that the programme’s outcomes demonstrate the importance of investing in girls as a pathway to national development.

“This success makes a strong case for expanding such interventions,” Alupo said.

KCCA Executive Director Sharifah Buzeki described the programme as one of the authority’s most transformative social interventions, noting that its success should be measured in both statistics and life outcomes.

“When I look at closure programmes, I look at the numbers of those who have benefited and the future ahead,” Buzeki said. “This has been a truly transformative programme across all five divisions of Kampala.”

She revealed that more than 800 girls had been re-enrolled into school through the programme’s interventions, while over 211 had completed vocational training. At least 35 beneficiaries have gone on to start their own businesses.

“The programme has restored dignity,” Buzeki said. “The girls you see here today would not have looked like this without this intervention. We have learned that empowering girls requires a multidimensional approach education, social protection and economic empowerment must work together.”

The Ambassador of Belgium to Uganda Hugues Chantry, said the closure should be seen as a milestone rather than an ending, praising the collaborative effort behind the programme.

“It may look like a sad day because we are closing this programme, but it should be celebrated as a source of inspiration,” Chantry said. “Gender equality and the empowerment of girls are not just moral issues they are essential for social cohesion and development.”

He reaffirmed Belgium’s continued commitment to supporting education and social protection programmes in Uganda.

UNICEF representative to Uganda, Dr. Robin Nandy also highlighted the scale and reach of the initiative, noting that more than 4,000 girls were reached across two cohorts, with a deliberate focus on the most vulnerable groups.

“We are proud of what has been achieved together with KCCA and government,” a Nandy said. “The programme prioritised out-of-school girls, teenage mothers, and refugees those who are often left behind.”

The representative added that the programme’s design and results offer a strong model for replication in other urban centres.

GEG, implemented under KCCA in partnership with the Government of Uganda, UNICEF, and the Government of Belgium, has been widely cited as Uganda’s first urban-focused adolescent girl empowerment programme combining cash transfers, mentorship, education support, and vocational training.

As the programme closes, officials say its legacy will be carried forward through strengthened policy lessons aimed at sustaining education access and economic empowerment for vulnerable girls in urban communities.

By Geofrey Mutegeki Araali

Communication and Media Relation Officer