The Inspector General of Government (IGG), Lady Justice Aisha Naluzze Batala, has called for stronger institutional interventions to combat gender-related corruption, particularly in Uganda’s health and education sectors.
She said corrupt practices in public service delivery disproportionately affect women, girls and other vulnerable groups, undermining their dignity, rights and access to essential services.
The IGG made the remarks while opening a two-day workshop on Gender and Corruption in Uganda, focusing on the health and education sectors, at Onomo Hotel in Kampala.
The workshop, organised by the Inspectorate of Government (IG) with support from the Embassy of Denmark in Uganda, in collaboration with the Embassy of Sweden, the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre, brought together more than 15 stakeholders to examine the gender dimensions of corruption.
Batala observed that corruption should not be viewed merely as the loss of public resources, stalled government projects or inflated procurement contracts, but also as practices that violate people’s rights and compromise their access to public services.
She singled out sexual corruption, in which individuals in positions of authority demand sexual favours in exchange for services, academic grades or other opportunities, as one of the most harmful forms of abuse affecting women and girls.
“These are not abstract issues. A mother who cannot afford an unofficial payment at a health facility, a student pressured by a person in authority, a victim who stays silent for fear of stigma or retaliation: each is a failure of integrity, and each undermines the right to health and the right to education,” she said.
She noted that health and education are particularly sensitive sectors because they involve frequent direct interactions between citizens and government institutions, making integrity in service delivery essential to public trust.
According to the IGG, corruption in these sectors has far-reaching implications for households, communities and national development, particularly when vulnerable people are denied services or forced to meet unofficial demands to access them.
She challenged institutions, including the Inspectorate of Government, to assess whether their existing investigative tools, administrative procedures and institutional cultures are sufficiently equipped to identify and address corruption that disproportionately affects women and other vulnerable groups.
Batala further acknowledged that sexual corruption remains largely hidden and under-reported because victims often fear losing employment, educational opportunities or their reputations if they report perpetrators.
She called for accessible, safe and responsive reporting systems that protect complainants from intimidation, stigma and retaliation while encouraging victims to seek justice.
The IGG also highlighted the Inspectorate’s Directorate of Ombudsman Affairs, which handles complaints relating to maladministration and injustice, as an important mechanism through which citizens can seek redress when their access to public services is compromised.
She emphasised the need for institutions to strengthen their capacity to receive, investigate and act on complaints involving gender-related corruption rather than allowing such abuses to go unaddressed.
The Deputy British High Commissioner to Uganda, Tiffany Kirlew, also attended the workshop and urged participants to openly share their experiences and insights to enrich the discussions.
Kirlew expressed optimism that the deliberations would generate practical recommendations capable of informing institutional reforms and strengthening Uganda’s response to gender-related corruption.
The workshop is expected to provide a platform for stakeholders to examine the intersection between gender inequality and corruption, identify institutional weaknesses and propose interventions to promote accountability, transparency and equitable access to healthcare and education.
Gender-related corruption remains a significant governance concern because it often exploits unequal power relations, leaving victims with limited avenues for justice, particularly in environments where reporting systems are weak or perpetrators wield considerable institutional authority.
The post IGG calls for stronger action against gender-related corruption in health, education sectors appeared first on Watchdog Uganda.