July 28, 2022 (ENTEBBE, Uganda): The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the Government of Uganda conducted a two-day Consultation meeting on Uganda’s Costed National Education Response Plan for the Implementation of the Djibouti Declaration on Education for Refugees, Returnees and Host Communities.
The objective of the national consultation meeting was to review the progress in the implementation of Uganda’s Costed National Education Response Plan for inclusive education and to strengthen the development of the second phase of Uganda’s Education Response Plan.
Speaking on behalf of the Director of Health and Social Development, Mme. Fathia Alwan, Dr. Kebede Kassa, IGAD Senior Program Coordinator of Education, Science, Technology, and Innovation, welcomed the participants and lauded the leadership of the Government of the Republic of Uganda and encouraged stakeholders to share lessons toward the speedy implementation of the costed plan of action. Dr. Kebede also expressed appreciation for the work done over the last four years and highlighted the importance of harnessing the momentum to achieve the state’s targets in the coming years. He also appreciated and sincerely thanked partners, notably the government of Germany through GIZ, ECW, UNHCR and others for providing needed financial and technical assistance.
The national consultations in the Republic of Uganda brought together partners from UNHCR, Windle Trust International (WTI), The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), experts from IGAD as well as from relevant government offices, including the Ministry of Education, Office of the Prime Minister and partner agencies.
Dr. Jane Egau Okou for Permanent Secretary Ministry of Education and Sports extended, a “glowing tribute to our ERP secretariat and the various departments that are involved in the refuge interventions. The ERP 11 is in its final stages of approval, and 10 districts have completed their Response plans. These are ready tools for mobilizing resources at the district level”.
IGAD has been working closely with relevant partners and stakeholders, including the Government of Germany through GIZ, UNHCR, UNESCO, UNICEF, ECW and the European Union to implement the various actions outlined in the Djibouti Declaration.
Ms. Eno Brigitte Mukanga, UNHCR Uganda, Deputy Representative reiterated the importance of the Djibouti Declaration in “amplifying the need to accelerate the inclusion of refugees into the national education systems and ensuring that no one is left behind with regards to access to education, skills development and building competencies. We are mindful of the task at hand for IGAD to support the development and implementation of the multi-year costed national education response plan”.
IGAD has been supporting member states to develop and implement costed national education response plans towards implementing the Djibouti Declaration.
The Djibouti Declaration amplifies the need to accelerate the inclusion of refugees into national education systems and ensure that no one is left behind regarding access to education, skills development and building competencies.
The IGAD regional interventions in education are informed by the Global Compact on Refugees and the Global Compact on Migration; the Nairobi Declaration and the AU Agenda 2063.
