USAID Integrated Child and Youth Development Activity in Uganda

Challenge

In Uganda, only one-third of students complete primary education. A range of factors limit students’ ability to stay in school and succeed and thrive in the classroom. These include teacher absenteeism, the need for boys and girls in poor families to support family income or help with household work, an inability to afford school supplies, and the threat of gender-based violence in school environments. Further, classes in many primary schools are not age-based, due to students frequently dropping out and then reentering school once they can pay their school fees. This affects the school’s ability to tailor learning objectives to each student cohort’s age and stage. 

Solution

The USAID Integrated Child and Youth Development (ICYD) Activity—led by Education Development Center (EDC)—seeks to improve learning outcomes for children in Uganda, while ensuring safe and healthy learning environments. Over five years, the Activity team will work across a range of critical areas to achieve its goals, including:  

• Working with local government on early grade reading initiatives;  

• Addressing primary school retention through a combination of family, community, and school-based interventions to take on known drivers of school dropout rates; and  
• Supporting local government and local organizations to improve service delivery for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC). 

Resonance leads private sector engagement (PSE) across the Activity. We’ll seek to facilitate strategic partnerships with multinational, regional, and local companies to improve early grade reading and school retention, and to combat drivers of school dropout. We’ll also provide guided technical support to select local government agencies in Uganda, to help them more effectively engage the private sector in service delivery going forward.