On 31st March, 2016, Uganda Bureau of Statistics in collaboration with the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development and the School of Women and Gender Studies, Makerere University held a high level meeting to discuss gender statistics in relation to the National Development Plan (NDPII) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The meeting held at Sheraton Hotel Kampala was attended by Permanent Secretaries, Heads of Planning and Policy of the Government, Accounting Officers of Development partner institutions and representatives from Civil Society Organizations.
It followed a consultative process on gender responsive indicators for the NDPII and SDGs with key stakeholders in the National Statistical System that included the Gender Advisory Group, representatives of various Ministries, Departments and Agencies, Civil Society Organizations and UN Agencies.
Held under the theme “Illuminating the Path to Gender Equality and Development for all”, the meeting featured presentations by various stakeholders, specifically on the relevance of gender statistics to planning and national development. Presenting the harmonized list of gender responsive indicators from the NDPII and SDGs, UBOS Executive Director, Mr Ben Paul Mungyereza, said achieving real inclusion of gender equality and monitoring of the progress of SDGs required quality disaggregated data. “Measuring progress 
on the various SDG targets will require availability of data disaggregated by gender, age, location, disability, income and other important attributes. The National Statistical System – UBOS, MDAs & HLGs are major sources of data derived from regular censuses and surveys,” he said.
Mr Mungyereza noted that adequate monitoring and implementation of SDGs is of critical importance and will determine whether policy efforts are channeled adequately and SDGs are achieved or missed. “Monitoring gender targets is particularly important to ensure that women and girls are contributing to and benefitting from implementation efforts,” he said.
The Gender Sensitive 2030 Agenda has more than 50 SDG indicators, 23% of total being related to gender equality from 8 Goals. These include the proportion of women in national parliaments and local governments; proportion of women in managerial positions; proportion of women aged 15-49 who make their own informed decisions regarding sexual relations, contraceptive use and reproductive health care; percentage of girls and women aged 15-49 who have undergone female genital mutilation by age, location and income status; proportion of ever-partnered women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to physical or psychological sexual violence by a current or former intimate partner; number of countries where the legal framework includes special measures to guarantee women’s equal rights to land ownership and control; percentage of countries with systems to track and make public allocations for gender equality and women’s empowerment; and percentage of time spent on unpaid care and domestic work by sex, age group and location.
Mr Mungyereza informed participants that weak coordination within the global statistical system, the underdeveloped systems for administrative data production across MDAs, irregularity of data collection programmes and limited appreciation of data and data collection by policy makers was hampering monitoring of the progress of SDGs. “Important areas are excluded in SDGs due to lack of standards and measures,” he noted.
He called for regular censuses and production of quality, comparable and regular gender statistics to address national data gaps.
UN Women Country Representative said measurement of gender and intersecting 
inequalities needed to be prioritized. "There is need to build supportive and well-coordinated policy environment to ensure gender-responsive monitoring of the SDGs,” she said.
In her presentation titled "Policy Perspective of Gender and Equality Issues", the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, represented by the Director Gender and Community Development, Ms Jane Mpagi, informed participants that pursuing gender equality as a goal of equal rights and opportunity for men and women to enjoy the same status and realize their potential is both a human rights as well as an economic concern. “In this respect, the Government of Uganda has put gender equality and women’s empowerment high on its national agenda and the pursuit to achieve this goal is firmly rooted in the condusive policy environment that promotes social and economic transformation of communities,” she explained.
She said the Uganda Gender Policy 2007 provides the overall framework for addressing gender inequalities within the context of national development. “The policy has set the basis for institutionalizing gender mainstreaming in planning, implementation and monitoring and evaluation of programmes. The policy serves as a guide for the integration of gender concerns across the different sections of national development.”
Ms Mpagi noted that within the social Development Sector, all the sub-sector policies have articulated attention to gender issues and gender equality as a guiding principle for the implementation of the policies. “The policies include the Uganda National Employment Policy 2011, the Uganda National Culture Policy 2006, the National Policy on Disability 2006, the National Orphans and other Vulnerable Children Policy 2004, the National Equal Opportunities Policy 2006, the National Child Labour Policy 2007, the National Youth Policy 2001, the National HIV/AIDS and World of Work policy 2007 and the National Community Development Policy of Uganda 2015.
She said the focus on gender mainstreaming will be on the priority areas of NDP11 which are; Infrastructure, Agriculture, Tourism, Human Capital Development and Mineral, Oil and Gas development to ensure that women fully participate and benefit from the programmes within these sectors.
She further noted that the provision of Gender statistics as a mechanism for providing evidence for policy and planning as well as monitoring the implementation of government policy commitments is significant.
See full presentations below