Programs helping vulnerable girls access and progress through education across Uganda are set to expand their reach, following the commitment of UGX 700 million in proceeds from the 2026 Absa KH3 7 Hills Run to eight organisations already working with girls and communities across the country.
Uganda has made significant progress in expanding access to education, including for girls, but gaps remain for children in poorer and more vulnerable communities. A 2024 study by the Ministry of Education and Sports, European Union and UNICEF highlights persistent inequalities in progression to secondary education, with secondary-school enrolment at 43.1% among children from the wealthiest households compared with 8.2% among the poorest.
The study identifies financial pressures as a major factor affecting school attendance and retention. For girls in vulnerable communities, these can intersect with other challenges including teenage pregnancy, long distances to school, gender-based violence and inadequate facilities.
It is these remaining gaps that have shaped how the 2026 Run proceeds will be deployed. Support will extend beyond menstrual health to include school fees and scholastic materials, bicycles for girls travelling long distances, school re-entry for teenage mothers, clean water and sanitation, disability support and assistive devices, counselling and mentorship, vocational and life skills, and stronger school support systems.
Rather than establish parallel interventions, Absa will continue to support organisations with programmes already operating in communities and specialist expertise in addressing these different barriers, enabling them to extend their reach to more girls.
Speaking at the proceeds handover, David Wandera, Managing Director of Absa Bank Uganda, said “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. “These organisations are already working in communities where those challenges exist and understand what support is needed. 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.”
Through the Uganda Red Cross Society, support will expand the existing Keep A Girl in School programme, including menstrual-health kits for 10,000 vulnerable girls, education for 15,000 adolescents, teachers and caregivers across 100 schools, and support to help 1,000 teenage mothers return to school.
Windle International Uganda will support girls in refugee-hosting and hard-to-reach communities through scholastic materials, bicycles, dignity kits, counselling and school reintegration, including girls formerly living on Kampala’s streets who have been re-enrolled in schools in Napak.
World Vision Uganda, Amref Health Africa, Plan International Uganda and RIDE-AFRICA will strengthen school and community support through interventions including clean water and sanitation, changing facilities, menstrual health, teacher capacity, school clubs and skills development.
The programme will also address barriers faced by girls with disabilities. Kyaninga Child Development Centre will support 100 girls with disabilities and strengthen 18 schools to provide more inclusive learning environments, while Baylor College of Medicine Children’s Foundation-Uganda will support 1,000 girls across Hoima, Mubende and Fort Portal through education assistance, counselling, mentorship, vocational training and mechanisms to identify girls at risk of dropping out.
Together, the interventions are intended to address challenges at different stages of a girl’s education journey; getting into school, remaining there, returning after dropping out, and having the support needed to progress.
More than 8,000 people participated in the fourth Absa KH3 7 Hills Run in May 2026, continuing the growth of an initiative established in 2023 to mobilise support for girls’ education. Absa said the next phase will focus on tracking delivery against the commitments made by each implementing partner, including the number of girls reached and outcomes related to school access, re-entry, retention and progression.
