In a city where policy decisions often feel distant from the lives they shape, a signing ceremony in Kampala on December 15 carried consequences far beyond the conference room.
With a fresh $5.5 million commitment, the government of Iceland and Unicef laid down a bet on thousands of young Ugandans, adolescent mothers balancing childhood and parenthood, children growing up in displacement, and schools and clinics struggling to provide the most basic services.
This was not emergency aid meant to plug short-term gaps. It was a calculated investment in systems that determine whether a girl returns to school after pregnancy, whether a child learns in a classroom with clean water, and whether support lasts after donors step back.
At the heart of the agreement is a $4 million commitment to the second phase of a programme with an ambitious name and a practical focus: ‘Empowering Adolescent Mothers and Their Children – A Dual Generation Approach.’
Running from January 2026 to December 2029, the programme targets adolescent mothers aged 12 to 19 and their young children in Kikuube and Kyegegwa districts, areas that host large refugee populations and face high rates of early pregnancy and school dropout.
For many girls in these communities, motherhood arrives early and abruptly closes off education, income, and social support. The programme’s logic is simple but demanding: support the mother and the child at the same time.
Adolescent mothers are helped to return to school or gain employable skills, while their children, aged from birth to five, receive early learning, care, and protection. The package combines social protection, education pathways, early childhood development, mentorship, and gender- and disability-inclusive services, backed by stronger referral systems.
“This programme shows that supporting adolescent mothers is not charity, it is smart development,” said Hildigunnur Engilbertsdottir, Iceland’s head of mission in Uganda.
“With Iceland’s continued support, I am hopeful that thousands of adolescent mothers and their children will be supported to build better lives for themselves.”
The approach builds on the first phase of the programme, which reached 871 adolescent mothers with mentorship, skills training, and cash transfers, helping many re-enrol in school and strengthening safeguarding and referral mechanisms.
Phase II aims to scale that impact, reaching 3,000 adolescent mothers and their children, while generating evidence to inform national policy and financing decisions under Uganda’s National Development Plan IV. Alongside this investment, Iceland and Unicef also signed a second agreement worth $1.5 million focused on water, sanitation, and hygiene, often referred to simply as WASH.
The funding supports an “exit phase” of WASH programming in institutions, from January 2026 to June 2027, across five refugee-hosting districts in West Nile: Adjumani, Arua, Madi-Okollo, Terego, and Yumbe.
The phrase “exit phase” can sound like withdrawal, but in practice, it signals a shift. After years of direct support, the programme now focuses on ensuring that schools and health facilities can maintain safe water and sanitation services on their own.
Nearly 140,000 children, women, and community members are expected to benefit as infrastructure is rehabilitated, operation and maintenance systems strengthened, and district and community capacity built.
“As our successful WASH programme in West Nile approaches its conclusion, I am pleased by how ambitious the planned exit phase is, particularly for the benefit of women and children in the region,” Engilbertsdottir said.
For Unicef, the value of the partnership lies not just in the funding, but in how it is used. Dr Robin Nandy, Unicef’s Representative in Uganda, described Iceland as “a valued strategic partner in advancing Government-led programmes for children and adolescents.”
“This new support will empower adolescent mothers to access quality education and skills pathways, while the WASH transition programme consolidates gains in schools and health facilities through sustainable, nationally owned systems,” Nandy said.
“Together, these investments strengthen social protection, early learning and essential services, ensuring lasting impact.”
Both programmes reflect a broader shift in development thinking: moving away from parallel projects run by external actors, and toward national and local systems that can endure.
In the WASH programme, that means embedding governance, financing, and service delivery within district structures and promoting market-based sanitation solutions. In the adolescent mothers’ programme, it means demonstrating a model that government ministries can adopt and scale as part of Uganda’s national response to teenage pregnancy.
Uganda continues to grapple with high rates of adolescent pregnancy, particularly in refugee-hosting and rural districts, where poverty, displacement, and limited access to services intersect.
At the same time, schools and health facilities in these areas often struggle with broken water systems and poor sanitation—problems that disproportionately affect girls and women.
By backing both social protection and basic services, Iceland’s latest contribution addresses these challenges from different angles, but with a shared aim: reducing vulnerability and expanding opportunity for children and adolescents who are most at risk of being left behind.
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