Uganda hosts EU Global Learning Event on joint programming and implementation

27.11.2019

Close to 80 European participants gathered in Kampala, Uganda to discuss how to work better at country level.

The Global Learning Event facilitated learning and sharing on Working Better Together approaches. The aim is to improve the effective and efficient delivery of European aid by reducing fragmentation among EU donor aid programmes and projects. At the same time, the EU promises to increase partner country ownership by basing its Joint programming documents on national development strategies. The timing of the event enabled a discussion on the preparations for the new EU programming cycle.  

The main elements included:

  • case studies from five countries,
  • an exchange with EEAS, DEVCO and Member States capitals,
  • a focus on working with European development financial institutions,
  • aligning better with multilateral partners,
  • integrating civil society into joint programming processes,
  • reflecting on the triple nexus approach in fragile countries and
  • a focus on joint implementation with the active participation of the Practitioners Network.

The participants reiterated the need for EU and its Member States to work better together at country level. Hence the discussion focused on how to do this and to which extent. As a result, there was a wide consensus on the need to;

  • better integrate the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into Joint Programming processes and
  • make use of each other’s capacities and expertise.

The event was hosted by the European Union Delegation to Uganda, opened by the EU Ambassador and addressed by the Uganda State Minister of Finance, Planning & Economic Development. Colleagues from the EU institutions (Headquarters and Delegations), Member States capitals, their Embassies and their development agencies (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, Spain, United Kingdom) and from Norway actively participated. The European Investment Bank also participated from their regional office in Nairobi.