Dr. Sarah Ssewanyana, Executive Director EPRC (holding plaque) with UNDP Officials during the award ceremony on December 6, 2016 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
The report titled “Unlocking the development potential of Northern Uganda” emerged as one of the four winners of the 2016 Awards for Excellence in Human Development Reporting.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Goodwill Ambassador, HRH Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and UNDP Administrator, Helen Clark, presented the award in a ceremony held on December 6, 2016 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
The Economic Policy Research Centre spearheaded preparation of the report as well as stakeholder engagement and outreach, following a memorandum of understanding with UNDP Uganda in November 2014.
The Uganda National Human Development Report (NHDRUg) 2015 was the only report from Africa to win this year. It was recognised for outstanding outreach and stakeholder engagement
The report was listed among the top four after an evaluation panel reviewed 29 submissions from among 50 national and regional human development reports published as of 2012.
Since its launch, in December 2015, the NHDRUg has changed the perception of policy makers and development partners from viewing Northern Uganda as an insurgency riddled region to a region with development potential. The report has helped to inform and shape policy, strategy and programming for Northern Uganda.
Other winners included: Chile 2012 HDR ‘Subjective Wellbeing: The Challenges of Rethinking Development’, Montenegro 2013 HDR ‘People are the real wealth of the country’. How rich is Montenegro’ and Sri Lanka 2014 HDR ‘Youth and Development: Towards a More Inclusive Future.’
The winning reports portray how human development report teams can engage with communities, organisations and institutions to develop the reports, and communicate findings in ways to influence political debate in countries. The reports also influence dialogue around the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
EPRC is committed to providing evidence that supports Government of Uganda in implementation of the SDGs.