East African Coastal Corridor

The Coastline Transnational Highway project, also known as the East African Coastal Corridor Development Project, is financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB), European Union, and the governments of Kenya and Tanzania. Its goal is to boost regional integration, expand cross-border trade and tourism, and support socio-economic development. The project focuses on improving road transport infrastructure along the Kenya-Tanzania coastline, particularly between Mombasa and Bagamoyo.

Since 2022, Bank Information Center (BIC), Collaborative Centre for Gender and Development (CCGD), WeRise Africa, and other civil society organizations (CSOs) have actively monitored the project in Mombasa, Kwale, and Kilifi counties (located in the Kenyan coastal region). CSOs have engaged the AfDB, the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA), various Kenyan government agencies, and contractors on child protection concerns, especially regarding sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment (SEA/H). Over the years, advocacy from CSOs has led to some improvements in how AfDB and KeNHA engage with groups raising these concerns.  

1) Child Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Harassment (SEA/H)

In 2022, BIC’s initial project monitoring findings indicated a high risk of child SEA/H due to labor influx. Child protection risks in the project area included: some parents “selling” their girls to laborers to settle debts and  children being used to beg, hawk goods, or serve workers, exposing them to abuse, which increased school dropouts, teenage pregnancies, and forced child marriages. Additionally, labor camps were located close to local communities, and community members noted that there were no measures in place to prevent and respond to child SEA/H cases.

Community members, including project-affected persons (PAPs), also reported an increased risk of child trafficking in Kwale county, particularly along the Lungalunga border. Similarly, in Kilifi County, land clearing for construction — including cutting trees and removing sisal plantations — reduced household income and increased the likelihood for families to push their children into early marriage and/or transactional sex.  

Between 2023 and 2025, following sustained community and CSO advocacy, KeNHA hired Delta Health Consultant to implement the SEA/H and Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Action Plan to improve referral systems in communities along the project corridor. Delta Health Consultant, local communities, CSOs, and government agencies identified several significant gaps in preventing and responding to SEA/H, including: limited awareness of where and how to report SEA/H cases; inadequate capacity among Grievance Redress Committee (GRC) members to respond to SEA/H cases; and poor coordination between service providers.  

In response, referral systems were strengthened to include schools, health centers, police, the Department of Children and Gender, community liaison officers, and SEA/H case managers. As a result, community members began reporting child SEA/H cases but were reluctant to name project workers as the perpetrators due to fear of retaliation. Through these strengthened systems, victims and/or survivors can now access health services, counseling, and support. Information on referral pathways and the GRC was shared widely through Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) materials, radio programs, community meetings, drama activities, and school outreach events. CSOs note that while child SEA/H remains a high risk, children and community members now have better access to services than before. 

2) Child labor

Initial findings revealed both direct and indirect child labor practices occurred in the project implementation area. Documented instances of direct child labor included children carrying materials or completing simple construction tasks; in Kwale, this often involved children laboring in quarries during road construction. Meanwhile, indirect child labor typically encompassed children selling water, fruit, and other items along the road; some completely leaving school to work which contributed to school dropout, early marriage, and teenage pregnancies. 

In 2023, CSOs and local community members submitted a memo to KeNHA regarding direct and indirect child labor occurring along the Mombasa-Mtwapa-Kilifi Road. Following this advocacy, KeNHA, GRC members, Delta Health Consultant, police, and local leaders investigated and ultimately conducted sensitization activities in schools and communities. Implemented actions included: urging parents not to leave children under 18 to run businesses during school hours or late in the day, deployment of security personnel at construction sites where children were hawking or collecting scraps to sell, requiring workers to sign a code of conduct prohibiting commercial transactions with children, and contracting a designated food supplier for workers to limit interactions with community vendors. Through sustained CSO and community advocacy, these measures have been upheld through 2025, thereby reducing instances of direct and indirect child labor. 

3) Inadequate information disclosure and access

Initial findings in 2022 indicated that IEC materials were still being developed, even though project implementation had already begun in some communities. Additionally, no project signage was displayed, and interactions with community members and local leaders revealed that they had not been adequately consulted or informed about the project’s risks and benefits. As a result, in 2023, PAPs, with support from CSOs, filed a complaint with the Independent Recourse Mechanism (IRM), citing inadequate consultations, lack of disclosure of the Resettlement Action Plan (RAP), lack of communication on compensation processes, and concerns about environmental conservation. Mediation with the impacted Project-affected Persons (PAPs) is still ongoing with support from CSOs. 
Additionally, it was initially challenging to access the SEA/H-GBV plan from both AfDB and KeNHA. However, following CSO advocacy, in 2024, AfDB shared the plan with CSOs, who used it to monitor the activities of Delta Health Consultant and made recommendations, particularly regarding child protection.  Similarly, the updated Resettlement Action Plan was not shared with PAPs until 2024. As of 2025, compensation is still ongoing in Lot I and award letters have been distributed in Lot II.

4) Exclusion of children from stakeholder engagement and participation

Initial findings in 2022 indicated that children were not engaged or consulted during project design or implementation, despite its direct negative impacts on them. Local community-based organizations (CBOs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working on child rights confirmed they had not been engaged. While the project involves reconstructing impacted schools and facilities, children reported they were not involved in the design process. This resulted in accessibility challenges to schools during construction, and noise and pollution greatly impacted children’s well-being during school hours. Research shows that in large infrastructure projects, the needs, voices, and risk assessments of children are often overlooked. When children and youth are excluded from the consultation process, the project’s impacts on them are not fully anticipated or addressed. 

CSO and community advocacy pushed for engagement with children on accessibility, road safety, and SEA/H risk and response. Ultimately, children and youth raised their concerns to responsible stakeholders, including KeNHA, Delta Consultant and relevant government agencies. As a result, Delta Health Consultant, together with KeNHA and relevant government agencies working on child protection, strengthened the SEA/H-GBV Action Plan to include more targeted and child-friendly activities and response measures. These included engagement with schools and children, drama plays, and child-friendly IEC materials that focused on SEA/H risks for children, prevention, and response measures. Accessibility options were provided and road marshals were hired to help children cross the road.

5) Gaps in the Grievances Redress Mechanism (GRM)

Initial findings from 2022 revealed that most respondents acknowledged the existence of a GRM; however, they noted a lack of clarity around its structure and functionality. Others stated they were unaware that a GRM existed and therefore did not know how or where to file a complaint. Chiefs reported that Grievance Redress Committees (GRCs) at the ward level had not been properly trained to handle cases, especially those related to GBV and child SEA/H. The GRMs were not child-friendly, which discouraged children from reporting abuse. PAPs and community members also reported that they were aware of AfDB’s Independent Recourse Mechanism (IRM), another avenue through which PAPs can seek remedy if negative project impacts persist.  

Between 2023 and 2025, Delta Health Consultant, while implementing the SEA/H-GBV Action Plan, also conducted several related training sessions with key stakeholders, including GRCs, local leaders, and police. Delta Health also coordinated stakeholder engagement in impacted communities — bringing together GRCs, community champions, government agencies responsible for children’s affairs, KeNHA, police, and CSOs — through monthly multi-stakeholder meetings. During these meetings, stakeholders held one another accountable for their roles in addressing impacts on children and implementing the SEA/H-GBV Action Plan. They also shared information, conducted training, and facilitated joint community sessions on SEA/H topics.  

6) Increased road accidents

Over the years, reports of road accidents increased during construction due to speeding vehicles. Notably, in May 2023, a construction truck driven by a project worker collided with a motorcycle in Shanzu, resulting in two fatalities. The motorcycle was carrying a Grade 4 student who later died at Coast General Referral Hospital. CSOs wrote to Bamburi Police and sent a memo to KeNHA requesting investigations into the accident.  

Additionally, road construction makes roads impassable, especially during the rainy season. Community members — including persons with disabilities, children, and pregnant women — struggled to access the road along Bamburi, Bombolulu, Mkwajuni, and Shariani.  School-going children at Mtwapa North Secondary School were unable to safely cross the road due to the absence of an alternative route and excavations that cut into the school’s fence and footpath, exposing them to the risk of road accidents. Flooding caused by corrugation and uncovered ditches along the road corridor further increased inaccessibility.  
Following CSO and community advocacy, road safety signage was installed in schools such as Mkwajuni, Shariani, and Shimo La Tewa. Stage marshals were deployed near schools to support safe crossings, and the contractor introduced alternative access points.

7) Absence of age and gender-disaggregated data

There is a lack of age- and gender-disaggregated data on children, including data related to resettlement, population displacement, and compensation frameworks. As a result, child-headed households were excluded from the compensation matrix and subsequently missed out on project benefits.  

Research, including the Data, Children’s Rights, and the New Development Agenda report, emphasizes that disaggregated data is critical to identifying inequities and informing interventions that are responsive and accountable to the world’s 2.2 billion children — especially those excluded from development benefits. In this project, the lack of disaggregated data in the RAP directly contributed to child-headed families not being considered for compensation. 

8) Inadequate capacity to implement and comply with national and AfDB safeguards

Communities and PAPs expressed concern that KeNHA and AfDB lack the required capacity to implement both national and AfDB safeguards. This concern aligns with the 2019 Independent Development Evaluation (IDEV) report on AfDB’s Integrated Safeguards System (ISS), which identified insufficient environmental and social (E&S) safeguards compliance, a low number of E&S specialists, and limited skill sets as barriers to supporting Borrowers in implementing and monitoring the ISS.  

Additionally, AfDB operational safeguards were not well known among the implementing agency staff due to high staff turnover. Regional KeNHA staff reported that they require additional resources and capacity to monitor project implementation and uphold the child protection policy effectively. AfDB committed to continuously train and support KeNHA staff on the ISS implementation.

1. Engage more consistently with CSOs throughout the project cycle. In  2022, CSOs had to contact AfDB’s Executive Directors to secure a meeting with the project team in Nairobi. Subsequent engagement with CSOs has demonstrated the value-add they bring to project implementation at the community level. As Lot 2 implementation begins, AfDB should continue to meaningfully engage with CSOs to increase development effectiveness, enhance local ownership, and gain valuable insights — all of which has been demonstrated in Lot 1. CSOs direct link to communities and on-the-ground knowledge evidenced in Lot 1 implementation can improve project implementation to have greater impact on local communities. 
2. Use lessons learned from Lot 1 to strengthen the implementation in Lot 2. Key lessons include: addressing labor influx; managing social impacts, including child SEAH, which requires sustained monitoring and improved management systems; strengthening institutional capacity; and fostering a culture of better community and CSO engagement. These lessons should be taken into consideration during  Lot 2 project implementation.
3. Continue monitoring the mediation process and the implementation of the action plan. As of 2025, the mediation process is still ongoing and stakeholders are yet to agree on an action plan. AfDB and the Independent Recourse Mechanism (IRM) should continue to monitor both the mediation process and implementation of the action plan to support both the contractor and KeNHA in responding to the complaints raised to avoid further delays in project implementation. In its 2023 management response to the complaint filed, AfDB committed to ongoing monitoring of the project, and engagement with PAPs and CSOs to respond to the complaints; this commitment should be fulfilled at the community level. 

The African Development Bank, through the African Development Fund, is financing US$ 384.22 million of the US$ 751 million project cost.