Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) of the Parenting for Respectability programme

There is currently a great opportunity to prevent violence through the increasing policy interest to optimise parenting influence. Several parenting programmes developed in high income countries have been adapted for use in sub-Saharan Africa, while some indigenous ones are being tried. The Ugandan government’s National Action Plan 2016-2021 outlines various interventions to improve parenting.  Approximately 55% of Uganda’s 35 million population is below the age of 18 (Uganda Bureau of Statistics 2016) and its vision to become a middle-income country by 2040 depends on these children’s ability to contribute to national development, which is highly contingent on safeguarding their wellbeing and rights (MoGLSD & UNICEF Uganda, 2015). The Ministry of Gender Labour and Social Development has developed a national family policy as well as parenting guidelines, and 2017 was declared the year of the family in Uganda. The Integrated Early Childhood Development Policy (IECD) (2016) in Uganda and the UN’s Sustainable Development agenda (SDGs) provide new entry points for parenting work, with the success of the IECD being dependent on effective parenting. The policy is expected to be implemented though a multi-sectoral approach, and different actors will find it a useful framework for tackling the different early childhood development outcomes.
Funded by the Oak Foundation, the programme objectives include, developing an agreed agenda for parenting work in Uganda by providing strategic direction and  leadership, and generating consensus to optimise implementation of evidence-based parenting interventions for the early prevention of violence across Uganda through; generating consensus on what parenting work should look like in Uganda; and improving the evidence base for parenting interventions to prevent violence;  as well as optimizing the implementation of evidence-based programmes to meet the greatest need; and  improving coordination of effort and shared learning in this field
A mapping report has been produced thus far.