Leaders Confront Child Marriage in Karamoja, Pledge Action

Moroto, Uganda - Childhood in Karamoja is under threat. Last week, Nascent RDO-U organized a two-day advocacy engagement in Moroto bringing together newly elected district leaders, civil society, cultural leaders, young people and development partners to confront the region’s alarming rates of child marriage, child labour, and other forms of child exploitation. The message was clear: protecting children cannot wait, and when children win, we all win.

The Regional Advocacy Engagement, held on 24 - 25 June 2026 at Leslona Hotel and the Moroto District Main Hall, was part of the efforts implemented under the Programme dubbed Collaborative Efforts to End Child Exploitation in Karamoja Region (COLLECT), implemented by Nascent RDO-U with funding support from The Freedom Fund. This programme seeks to contribute to the reduction of child marriage and other forms of child exploitation in Karamoja region by strengthening community-based child protection systems, improving household resilience, and promoting positive social norms that enable children, especially girls, to access education, protection, and safe pathways to adulthood. The regional advocacy engagement was guided by the theme “Protecting Childhood: Advancing Accountability and Strengthening Child Protection Systems to End Child Marriage and Other Forms of Child Exploitation.” The forum challenged leaders to move from promises to enforceable action.

A Stark Picture of Child Exploitation

Childhood should be a period of growth, learning, protection, and opportunity. Yet for many children in Karamoja-Uganda, particularly girls, childhood is cut short by child marriage and other forms of exploitation that violate their rights, dignity, wellbeing, and future prospects. Child marriage remains one of the most pervasive violations of children's rights in Karamoja region. It deprives children of their right to education, health, protection, participation, and development while exposing them to violence, poverty, social exclusion, and lifelong inequalities. Child marriage often intersects with other forms of exploitation, including child labour, trafficking, school dropout, neglect, and violence against children, creating multiple layers of vulnerability that undermine children's ability to realize their full potential.

A keynote address, delivered by Ms. Christine Koli, Child Protection Officer, UNICEF Moroto office highlighted that nationally, 34% of girls are married before 18, and 7% are married before 15 years. For Karamoja, early marriage remains deeply entrenched in cultural norms and motivated by the wealth exchange in terms of animals (bride price) expected from girls. Sexual violence is pervasive: 76% of young people report experiencing violence in childhood, and school-based data in Karamoja shows 18% of children facing sexual violence. Karamoja also records the country’s highest rate of child labour at 55.6%, with children increasingly pulled into hazardous mining and other forms of child labour. Female Genital Mutilation, though low nationally, still exceeds 40% in certain Karamoja districts, now often performed in secret or across borders.

Multidimensional child poverty compounds this crisis. While 44% of children nationally are deprived across health, education, nutrition, and protection, the figure soars to 77% in Karamoja, and up to 85.4% in Napak District. These levels of deprivation reinforce vulnerability and increase children’s exposure to exploitation and harm. Christine called for strengthened child protection systems, closing accountability gaps, and tackling the normalization of child exploitation. She emphasized that “As long as we walk out of this room and do nothing to change the situation of the child, we risk becoming complicit in the continuation of harm.”

Community Voices Shape Advocacy Priorities

Jane (pseudonym) a participant of the COLLECT project, shared the story of her journey into a forced marriage, her courageous escape from it, and the enduring struggles of living with the permanent consequences of a decision made by others, a decision that shattered the dreams she once held for her future.

Grace, (pseudonym), also a participant of the COLLECT project, shared a touching story of how her parents sold her off to an older man when she was very young. She gave birth at a very early age but luckily, she escaped the marriage which was plagued with gender-based violence.

Nascent RDO-U also featured a video story during the event, showcasing a mother who had a traumatic experience when she found her 4-year-old daughter in worrying state after a boy of 15 years took advantage and raped her in front of other little children she was playing with.

The first day’s forum placed lived experiences at the centre. Youth, community child protection structures, and programme beneficiaries shared testimonies, ensuring that the advocacy priorities taken forward were rooted in local realities. Delegates then developed a set of clear recommendations to present to district policymakers the following day.

Catalysing Change: Government and Civil Society Action to End Child Marriage and Child Exploitation

Ending child marriage and other forms of child exploitation requires a coordinated and sustained response that addresses both the immediate risks facing children and the structural factors that perpetuate their vulnerability. In Uganda, government institutions and civil society organisations have taken significant steps to strengthen child protection through legal and policy reforms, systems strengthening, service delivery, community engagement, and targeted interventions that prevent abuse, protect survivors, and promote children's rights.

The Cabinet Minister of Karamoja Affairs, Hon. John Baptist Lokii said that he will continue to push for more community schools to be formally coded, intensify go-back-to-school campaigns, and advocate for free, boarding primary schools, a resolution already moved by Karamoja’s regional members of parliament. In addition, Uganda has established a range of policy and legal frameworks to protect children, including the Constitution of Uganda, the Children (Amendment) Act, the National Strategy to End Child Marriage and Teenage Pregnancy in Uganda 2022/23-2026/27, and the National Child Policy among others. Moreover, Moroto Local Government has passed some ordinances to protect children like the ‘Rupa Sub-County Child Rights Bylaw’ which was enacted to directly address child labour in local mining sites, this bylaw mandates school enrolment and bans children from working in quarries. They also set up ‘Parental Penalties’ where parents found neglecting their children’s education or forcing them into labor face penalties up to UGX 20,000 or a jail term of up to six months (or both).

Nascent RDO-U, one of the Civil Society Organizations implementing programmes aiming to transform lives of underserved children and youth has made numerous contributions in the region since 2019. It has set up and empowered community structures, engaged communities, and been at the forefront at the grassroots level to deliver interventions that tackle child labour, child marriage, child trafficking and other forms of exploitation. The current intervention is the Hotspot Programme supported by The Freedom Fund, which is proving that local action, driven by young people and anchored in cultural realities, can prevent child marriage and other forms of exploitation even in Karamoja’s most vulnerable settings. It is designed to tackle child exploitation at its roots and empower youth-led advocacy groups to challenge harmful gender norms that drive child marriage, while simultaneously supporting women’s economic empowerment and promoting climate-adaptive livelihoods.

Our Proposed Pathways

The transition into a new leadership era at district level, the beginning of a new financial year, renewed national attention through the appointment of a Minister for Karamoja Affairs, born and raised from the region and with proven dedication to transforming lives of the people of Karamoja, and the launch of the Full Hotspot Programme to end child marriage present a timely opportunity to reinvigorate collective action and accelerate progress towards protecting children from child marriage and other forms of exploitation. Building on existing government commitments, legal and policy frameworks, and the sustained efforts of civil society organisations, the following proposed pathways outline strategic actions that can strengthen prevention, protection, and response mechanisms and translate renewed momentum into lasting change for children and communities.

• Map existing child protection laws and local guidelines, identify enforcement gaps, and develop practical responses to close them, including proposing amendments or new sub-county ordinances.
  


• Build capacity of councillors, technical staff, and community structures on child-related laws and policies, ensuring everyone understands their role in upholding children’s rights.
  


• Generate local evidence on the drivers, prevalence, and reporting of child exploitation, and use this data to inform council decisions and budget allocations.
  


• Collaborating with district, regional and national authorities as they strengthen child protection and unlock dedicated resources.
  


• Conduct regular sensitization meetings in communities to surface issues, gather community recommendations, and present them formally to the district council for action.
  


• Ensure full functionality of Community Welfare Committees (CWCs) by resourcing them, clarifying referral pathways, and monitoring their performance in every sub-county.
  


• Carry out continuous community mobilization and awareness-raising on the dangers of child marriage, child labour, and trafficking, using trusted channels.
  


• Model exemplary behaviour as leaders by publicly rejecting harmful practices, reporting cases, and demonstrating zero tolerance for child exploitation in their own spheres of influence.
  


• Develop and adopt annual workplans with clear child protection targets, integrated into the district development plan and linked to measurable outcomes.
  


• Rigorously follow up on approved child protection budgets, tracking spending, demanding accountability, and ensuring funds translate into frontline services.
  


• Pass and enforce sub-county ordinances that strengthen child protection, including bye-laws on child marriage, school dropout, and hazardous child labour.
  


• Increase investment in education, school feeding, and nutrition programmes, recognizing that a hungry child is a vulnerable child, and that schools are a frontline protection space.
  


• Actively engage the private sector to contribute funding, resources, and in-kind support for child protection initiatives, including apprenticeship and livelihood schemes for at-risk youth.

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