KAMPALA, UGANDA — Absa Bank Uganda has handed over UGX 700 million raised through the 2026 Absa KH3 7 Hills Run to eight organisations implementing programmes aimed at helping vulnerable girls access, remain in and progress through education.
The funds will enable the selected beneficiaries to expand programmes addressing barriers that continue to keep girls out of school, including poverty, teenage pregnancy, long distances to school, gender-based violence, disability, and inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene facilities.
Uganda has made significant progress in expanding access to education, including for girls, but major inequalities remain, particularly among children from vulnerable households. A 2024 study by the Ministry of Education and Sports, the European Union and UNICEF found that secondary-school enrolment stood at 43.1 percent among children from the wealthiest households, compared with only 8.2 percent among those from the poorest households.
Financial constraints remain a major factor affecting school attendance and retention, with girls facing additional challenges that can interrupt their education.
Speaking at the handover ceremony, Absa Bank Uganda Managing Director David Wandera said the bank is committed to supporting organisations that are already working with communities to address the challenges faced by vulnerable girls.
“A girl’s circumstances can still have a significant bearing on whether she is able to remain in school and complete her education. For a girl in a vulnerable household, the barrier may be the cost of basic scholastic materials; elsewhere it may be distance to school, teenage motherhood, disability or inadequate water and sanitation,” Wandera said.
He added that the selected organisations understand the needs of the communities they serve and are therefore well positioned to use the funding to reach more girls.
“Our responsibility now is to follow that support through and measure what it enables; more girls returning to school, remaining there and progressing with their education,” he said.
The Uganda Red Cross Society received UGX 100 million to expand its Keep a Girl in School programme. The initiative will provide menstrual health kits to 10,000 vulnerable girls, deliver menstrual health education to 15,000 adolescents, teachers and caregivers across 100 schools, and support 1,000 teenage mothers to return to school.
Windle International Uganda received UGX 90 million to support girls in refugee-hosting and hard-to-reach communities through scholastic materials, bicycles, dignity kits, counselling and school reintegration support. The programme will also support girls formerly living on the streets of Kampala who have been re-enrolled in schools in Napak District.
World Vision Uganda received UGX 100 million to improve menstrual health and hygiene management in Northern Uganda by expanding access to clean water, sanitation facilities and safer learning environments for girls.
Amref Health Africa received UGX 100 million to distribute reusable sanitary pads and support school reintegration for teenage mothers who dropped out of school in Mbale, Kibuku and the island communities of Namayingo.
Plan International Uganda will use its UGX 100 million allocation to expand access to menstrual health kits, provide vocational training in sanitary pad production, sewing and entrepreneurship, and supply scholastic materials to vulnerable girls.
RIDE-AFRICA received UGX 60 million to strengthen school and community support systems in Kitgum District through investments in water, sanitation and hygiene facilities, changing rooms, menstrual health initiatives, teacher capacity building, school clubs and life-skills development.
Kyaninga Child Development Centre received UGX 60 million to support 100 girls with disabilities and strengthen the capacity of 18 schools to provide more inclusive and accessible learning environments.
Baylor College of Medicine Children’s Foundation-Uganda received UGX 90 million to support 1,000 vulnerable girls in Hoima, Mubende and Fort Portal through education assistance, counselling, mentorship, vocational training and early identification of girls at risk of dropping out.
The interventions are expected to address barriers at different stages of a girl’s education journey, from enrolment and retention to school re-entry and progression.
More than 8,000 people participated in the fourth edition of the Absa KH3 7 Hills Run in May 2026. The initiative, which was launched in 2023 to mobilise support for girls’ education, has so far raised a cumulative UGX 1.6 billion and supported 52,713 girls through investments in menstrual health, education access, school retention and related interventions.
