The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) have began the construction of joint office premises in Kampala city.
The construction of the multimillion dollar structure was launched on Tuesday at a ground-breaking ceremony in Mbuya, a Kampala suburb.
According to both agencies, the shared premises will enable them reduce long- term operational costs, while giving their staff a safe and healthy work environment so that they can be more productive to serve the most vulnerable populations in Uganda.
It is also believed that it will strengthen the WFP and UNICEF partnership and make it easier to implement programmes that the UN agencies are delivering jointly, including social protection for refugees and host communities, school feeding and addressing malnutrition in Karamoja sub region.
"These joint premises are a reflection of our commitment in Uganda to deliver as one UN, working together to maximise the use of our resources while giving our best to the people we serve," said Susan Ngongi Namondo, the UN Resident Coordinator in Uganda.
The ground breaking ceremony was witnessed by KCCA executive director Dorothy Kisaka
Situated on a UNICEF leased land of 2.6 acres, she said the premises will feature parking space, health amenities, gender-sensitive services such as breast-feeding rooms, green gardens and a separate conference facility.
She also told officials at the ceremony that special focus will be given to making sure the premises are energy efficient, making maximum use of natural light and using renewable energy sources such as solar.
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"It will also provide for sewage treatment, water recycling and rainwater harvesting," she added.
The building has been designed and will be built to save 20 per cent on energy use, water consumption and material-used in the building. This will afford the building an EDGE (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies) certificate from the IFC-World Bank, a global standard for green building.
The agencies pointed out that this will be achieved by a combination of measures that will include solar power in the building, improved insulation of the wall, natural ventilation of the offices, water recycling, rainwater harvesting and sewage treatment.
The scheme also targets to retain over 50 per cent of the greenery and trees in the landscape, while minimising the building's carbon footprint. The building will feature energy efficient installations and water appliances.
"UNICEF Uganda has been working towards positive climate action and with this new construction we show once again that we walk the talk," M. Munir A. Safieldin, UNICEF Uganda Country Representative, said.
As the multimillion-dollar project goes into procuring construction materials and paying for services, it is said that the project will contribute to the national economy.
It is expected that the project will create jobs for an estimated 200 people, including women and young people, will be involved in both technical construction work and providing services such as preparing food.
