Similarly, the youth are the most HIV/AIDS affected and infected in the Country. Many
attempts have been made to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS including establishing
programmes like CHAI, AIM, AIC, TASO and UPHOLD but the youth have remained the
most vulnerable target to the scourge. Yet, they are the most productive human
resource. Therefore, before they are completely wiped out, concerted efforts are
required from all stakeholders to successfully fight it. This is the reason CEFORD is
intervening in the HIV/AIDS fight.
Many a times the women, youth, children and people with disabilities (PWDs) are often
marginalized or excluded from the benefits of economic growth because they lack
prerequisite endowments to participate in public programmes. In a patriarchal society
like the one in West Nile, women are often regarded as second-class human beings who
should not participate in decision-making or belong to the formal sphere. It is even
worse for the youth and children who are considered dependent on men and therefore
voiceless in the society. The low educational levels among the women, children and
PWDs are some of the reasons the group is sidelined and or marginalized. Their nonparticipation
in development planning often results into imposition of development
programmes that do not address the felt needs.
Empowerment
Whereas Uganda government through its affirmative Action policy has contributed to
reducing disparities among the people in the country, many are still disempowered and
poverty stricken. The most disadvantaged groups currently in the society are the youth
especially, girls, women and the elderly.
The youth who constitute the majority of Uganda’s population are increasingly becoming
vulnerable group because they neither own productive assets nor any meaningful
collateral to benefit from micro finance services. The situation is even worse for the girl
child who is discriminated against in property inheritance. The youth are also the most
unemployed group. In 2000, only 15% of the youth who completed school at tertiary
level gained entry into formal employment, mostly in urban areas.5 There are basically
no deliberate viable government programmes to keep the youth engaged. The
government once started the Youth Entrepreneurship Scheme (YES) for granting credit
facilities to the youth in Uganda, but those from West Nile have not benefited from the
scheme. This justifies CEFORD’s intervention in empowering the youth.