Uganda’s Energy Transition Plan leaves women behind

Uganda’s Energy Transition Plan (ETP), launched as a blueprint for guiding the country towards a low-carbon energy future, promises increased access to electricity, industrialization, and a shift from reliance on fossil fuels. But behind this seemingly progressive agenda is a huge omission, the plan’s failure to address the gendered nature of energy poverty. For thousands of Ugandan women like 38-year-old Sarah Kyomuhendo (not real name) of Hoima district, the ETP risks leaving millions of Ugandan women behind in the journey toward sustainable development.

Kyomuhendo, a farmer and mother of four (4), relies on firewood for cooking, spending hours daily gathering fuel. Her community, like many rural areas across Uganda, is not connected to the national grid, and solar systems remain unaffordable. “We hear about energy plans on the radio, but we don’t think we will ever benefit from them,” Kyomuhendo says. The reality she describes is not unique. Women disproportionately bear the burden of energy poverty, which affects their health, safety, and economic productivity. Yet, Uganda’s ETP does not include any gender specific targets or measures to ensure equitable access to energy for women.

The plan emphasizes exploiting Uganda’s oil and gas reserves as part of the transition strategy, overlooking the negative impacts such projects have on women. In oil-host communities, land loss, displacement, and environmental degradation have deepened poverty among women, many of whom lack formal land rights. Moreover, fossil fuel related climate impacts like longer droughts and food insecurity excessively affect women. Surprisingly, the ETP does not acknowledge these gendered harms nor does it prioritize a shift away from fossil fuels toward renewable energy that could empower women economically.

Another major flaw in the plan is its over reliance on grid expansion and large solar systems, which are largely unaffordable for poor, rural women. The absence of emphasis on small, off-grid solar solutions means women like Kyomuhendo, who earn less than a dollar a day, remain excluded. The ETP also fails to explore how energy can be a tool for women’s entrepreneurship or address energy related gender-based violence, such as sexual abuse near extractive sites. These gaps not only reflect a lack of gender integration but threaten to perpetuate existing inequalities.

Therefore, to make the ETP inclusive and transformative, reforms must be urgently made. The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development (MEMD) should prioritize renewable energy over fossil fuels, introduce gender-responsive targets, subsidize off-grid options, and decentralize energy services to local governments. Also, the creation of a dedicated energy transition unit would also help coordinate a just transition. Empowering women through energy access must be central not peripheral to Uganda’s energy future.

Kyomuhendo’s story is a powerful reminder that energy policies must serve the people they are designed to help. “We want energy that will sustainably change our lives,” she says. For Uganda to achieve a truly just and inclusive energy transition, it must listen to voices like Kyomuhendo’s and act on the urgent need to close the gender gap in the ETP.