FOWODE demands for gender responsive budgets from the health and education sector

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Mr. Julius Mukunda presenting findings to members of the Parliamentary Social Services Committee. | ©FOWODE 2010
As parliament assessed the sectoral performance of the budget framework paper, Forum for Women in Democracy (FOWODE) engaged the Parliamentary Social Services Committee on 22nd April 2010, to demand for improved gender responsive plans from the Health and Education sectors since they have a direct impact on the welfare of women.
Mr. Julius Mukunda and Esther Nabwiire presented a position paper to the Parliamentary Committee on Social Services highlighting five priority areas of focus for the two sectors. These included - establishing a Gender Unit within the Ministry of Education to mainstream gender; utilizing the Universal Primary Education capitation grant to purchase emergency sanitary facilities for school –girls. For Ministry of Health, FOWODE emphasized the following factors; improving the drug storage and supply management and access to health care as well as equipping providers with adequate skills for effective maternal health care in order to increase the percentage of births attended by skilled health personnel. Finally, Mr. Mukunda requested the Ministry of Health to make procurement of mama kits compulsory in all districts.
While addressing the Committee, Mr. Mukunda stated that the five priority areas were drawn from an assessment FOWODE conducted in March 2010 covering four financial years from 2006 to 2009 whose overall goal was to establish compliance trends to the budget call directive, by Ministry of Finance requesting all sectors to develop gender responsive plans. The assessment was conducted within the agriculture, education, health, water and environmental sanitation and the Justice Law and Order Sectors.
Hon. Rose Seninde, the Committee Chairperson, thanked FOWODE for interfacing with the Social Services Committee, stating that the Committee would request a response on how the two Sectors plan to improve on the priority areas identified by FOWODE. “We are going to meet with these sectors on 28th and 29th April 2010 respectively, on the agenda we shall request the two sectors to clearly indicate to us how women have benefitted from their budgets for the past financial year and how they plan to address the issues highlighted in your paper,” stated Hon. Seninde. Hon, Sylvia Senabulya expressed the need for FOWODE to strengthen monitoring of the implementation of sector budgets at the district level stating that at times, the budgets and plans approved by parliament have clear indictors on gender, which the sectors fail to prioritize during implementation. Hon. Sekitoleko mentioned that the Ministry of education has a policy on provision of sanitary facilities for girls in school and the Committee will request the ministry to report on the status of this policy.

Story by Carol Namagembe - Communications Officer

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