Norway to continue supporting Uganda
President Museveni receives credentials of Norwegian ambassador Anne Kristin Hermansen at State House Entebbe on September 20, 2023. PHOTO/HANDOUT
The Norwegian government will continue supporting its existing partnerships and programmes under the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), the country’s ambassador to Uganda has disclosed.
Ms Anne Kristin Hermansen’s reassurance comes after recent revelations that the Nordic country will close its embassy in Uganda next July.
“The closure is only part of a broader restructuring of Norway’s Foreign Service and the management of development cooperation will continue working under the guidance of Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad),” Ms Hermansen said during a courtesy visit of the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development headquarters (MGLSD) in Kampala on Monday.
Norad is a directorate under the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) whose values of respect, integrity and creativity guide its development assistance endeavours.
On his part, Mr Aggrey David Kibenge, the MGLSD permanent secretary, emphasised the importance of the collaboration between the governments of Uganda and Norway. He particularly noted the impact on the lives of women and girls in Uganda, citing the inroads made by the joint programme on ending gender-based violence (GBV).
“There is also the support for the campaign against female genital mutilation (FGM) through the Joint Global Trust Fund, which has led to significant reduction in the prevalence of FGM in Uganda,” he said, adding that Norway’s support through UN Women for women, peace, and security has allowed Uganda to develop and implement its National Action Plan III.
The Gender Equality for Development (GEfD) Programme, a government-to-government cooperation initiative between Norway and Uganda, he further revealed, “has played a vital role in advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment.” The programme, which fosters peer-to-peer learning and dialogue, has facilitated multiple missions between the two countries, especially for the girl child and women.
Ms Angela Nakafeero, the commissioner for gender and women affairs at the MGLSD, said capacity building for gender mainstreaming, including training in gender statistics, has been a crucial component of the collaboration.
“These efforts are empowering government institutions and helping them integrate gender considerations into their policies and programmes,” she noted, adding that, as a result, the productive collaboration under the GEfD Programme will see a 10-strong Ugandan delegation embark on a learning visit to Norway in 2024 to explore early childhood care and development practices.
Assurance: ‘‘The closure is only part of a broader restructuring of Norway’s Foreign Service and the management of development cooperation will continue working under the guidance of Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad),’’ Ms Anne Kristin Hermansen, Norway ambassador to Uganda.
