Empowered Aid Uganda – Food Distribution Pilot 1 Summary Report

This synthesis report evaluates the Empowered Aid Phase 2 pilot in Uganda’s Bidi Bidi refugee settlement, assessing how shifting food distribution points to 100% female staff and majority-female volunteer groups mitigates protection threats. While data confirms that female-led environments directly reduce situational fear and significantly boost beneficiary satisfaction, external compounding factors—specifically systemic pandemic lockdowns, school closures, and economic deprivation—have escalated adjacent protection crises, driving sharp increases in cross-border transport exploitation, early forced marriages, and survival-driven sexual abuse.