Austria commits €3.2 million to tackle violence in Uganda
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Pmldaily
Austria, the UN and the Ugandan government are launching a €3.2 million programme against gender-based violence in three northern sub-regions. The project, planned until February 2029, is to directly benefit about 830,000 people and strengthen healthcare, legal aid and psychosocial support, according to partnership officials.
Austria, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Ugandan government officially launched a €3.2 million partnership on Friday to combat gender-based violence. The SAFER project will cover the sub-regions of Karamoja, Acholi and Lango for 30 months, from September 2026 to February 2029, according to Ugandan daily PML Daily.
The programme is expected to directly benefit about 830,000 people, including 432,000 women and girls, and reach 186,000 people considered at risk of violence. It will strengthen healthcare, psychosocial support, legal aid and the judicial handling of violence cases, according to Katja Kerschbaumer, head of the Austrian embassy in Kampala.
Regional disparities remain significant. Intimate partner violence has affected 69.2% of women in Karamoja and 48.6% of those in Lango during their lifetimes, compared with 61.3% nationally. In Karamoja, four in 10 girls are married before the age of 18, and only 28% of health facilities provide comprehensive clinical care for rape victims, Katja Kerschbaumer said, according to PML Daily.
