Economic Policy Research Centre and UNICEF conducted regional orientation workshops to advance Uganda’s National Child-Focused Policy Research Agenda 2016-2020.
Two dissemination workshops were held on 16th and 22nd November 2016, at Wellsprings Hotel in Gulu and at the Institute of Interdisciplinary Training and Research (IITR) in Mbarara under the theme: “Adducing Evidence for Intergenerational Policies”.
The main objectives of the workshops included; increasing awareness among all stakeholders on the current state of Ugandan children, providing a summary of the critical pillars that could contribute to effective child policies and identifying gaps for which data and critical evidence based research findings are required to inform policy.
During the two workshops, EPRC Researchers Sheila Depio and Gemma Ahaibwe made presentations on the Situation of Uganda’s Children and why the Research Agenda for Children is necessary.
The session held at IITR in Mbarara attracted participants from the academia, students and the media. During a plenary, Dr. Rogers Bariyo, a Senior Lecturer on Governance, Development Economics, Health care delivery and Health Economics at IITR called for government commitment to fund research on children, multi-stakeholder involvement to create a synergy around child related issues and establishment of private child registration agencies to register Uganda’s newly born infants.
See a pictorial of the Gulu and Mbarara orientation workshops
Prof. Jerome Kabakyenga, Director Maternal Newborn and Child Health Institute, an affiliate health body at Mbarara University of Science and Technolgy, raised the need to carryout priority guided research.
Kabakyenga also observed that most research funds remain personalized rather than institutionalized for example the Presidential Initiative Funds, which he says should also be directed to child related research.
Sheila Depio told Journalists present at the Mbarara regional workshop that the regional orientations provide a platform to develop a systematic approach for rigorous intergenerational research, advocate for evidence to support policies and programs and most importantly contribute to the long-term wellbeing of children.