Mozambique East Africa Girls’ Empowerment and Resilience Program (EAGER)

The East Africa Girls’ Empowerment and Resilience Program (EAGER) is a World Bank-financed project (2023–2029) implemented by the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Action. According to project documents, EAGER aims to improve girls’ school retention, economic empowerment, and gender equality through the Eu Sou Capaz and Safe Spaces programs in Mozambique. 

SEA/H risk assessment and mitigation measures

Eu Sou Capaz was previously implemented under another World Bank-financed project, in which significant gaps in sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment (SEA/H) management gaps led the Bank to require corrective actions. These included strengthened case management, institutional coordination, SEA/H training, and survivor-centered procedures. EAGER was nevertheless classified as carrying a moderate SEA/H risk, despite the heightened risk associated with this earlier project. 

EAGER project documents recognize child SEA/H risks associated with the distribution of benefits, direct engagement with girls in schools and communities, and implementation in remote areas with limited protection services. They also acknowledge that activities challenging social norms may generate violence against girls and tensions with non-beneficiaries.

To address these risks, EAGER established an SEA/H Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM), Codes of Conduct, Safeguarding Focal Points, staff training, community engagement activities, and coordination with gender-based violence (GBV) referral services. To mitigate tensions between beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries, EAGER plans to engage boys and men through awareness activities that promote girls’ empowerment, prevent child marriage, and explain beneficiary selection criteria. 

Purpose of the monitoring

Following the SEA/H management gaps identified under the previous Eu Sou Capaz program and the mitigation measures incorporated into EAGER, BIC partnered with SOL to assess whether these measures have translated into stronger child SEA/H prevention and response in practice. 

SOL conducted fieldwork between January and June 2026 in Maputo, Manica, Sofala, and Nampula, engaging government officials, project staff, school actors, service providers, and student beneficiaries through interviews, group discussions, and conversations. 

The monitoring assessed how SEA/H prevention and response measures were working in practice. Promising practices included a Code of Conduct with explicit SEA/H provisions for EAGER staff, trained Safeguarding Focal Points at provincial and district levels, and Linha Fala Criança as a child-accessible reporting and referral channel. 

SOL also identified locally led approaches to raise awareness of child marriage, such as inviting female professionals to benefit distributions to show girls and families the opportunities available to them when they can access education. In addition, SOL identified effective coordination in a district where an EAGER Safeguarding Focal Point was integrated into the existing multisectoral GBV response system, which facilitated reporting from schools and follow-up with police and other services. 

SOL and BIC presented the findings and recommendations to the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) and the World Bank in June 2026. Since then, EAGER has begun developing a communication strategy. 

1. SEA/H risks linked to benefit distribution: Monitoring identified reports of SEA/H linked to accessing uniforms and bicycles, involving both school teachers and community members. Teachers and community leaders are not considered project actors because EAGER relies on third-party service providers to distribute benefits. However, interviews indicated that teachers and community leaders play visible roles during distributions. Beneficiaries lack clear information on how selection and distribution work and on the respective roles of service providers, teachers, and community leaders. This lack of clarity, combined with the visible role of school and community authorities, creates a risk that these actors may be perceived as influencing access to benefits. This risk is particularly relevant given the reported SEA/H cases linked to benefit distribution involving teachers.
2. Limited GRM visibility and inconsistent SEA/H case management: Despite multiple EAGER reporting channels, students had little awareness of Safeguarding Focal Points, Linha Fala Criança, or other reporting options. Reporting is further constrained by a culture of silence, fear of stigma or retaliation, and concerns that complaints could affect access to EAGER or damage the school’s reputation. The District Committees envisaged under the SEA/H Manual to coordinate case management and referrals have not been formally established. However, monitoring identified stronger case follow-up where Focal Points were already linked to existing GBV response structures. In one district, a Safeguarding Focal Point who also participated in the multisectoral GBV response had detailed knowledge of SEA/H cases reported in schools and coordinated follow-ups with relevant institutions. In other districts, coordination with police and service providers relied largely on individual Focal Points’ ability to secure cooperation and obtain updates on referred cases. Focal Points also reported that families or community leaders sometimes resisted formal referrals. Some Focal Points were unclear about the limits of their role, including whether they should investigate cases themselves or refer them to the appropriate authorities. As of August 2026, the project is also preparing a consultancy to strengthen GRM visibility, improve SEA/H case management, and support implementation of the SEA/H Action Plan.
3. Incomplete coverage of SEA/H risks and reporting: Monitoring identified some community awareness efforts, including sessions with parents and women on benefit distribution and discussions of issues such as child marriage. The Stakeholder Engagement Plan envisages ongoing communication adapted to different stakeholder groups, including the dissemination of project information and awareness of local GRM entry points. In the districts visited, however, these activities did not appear to systematically cover SEA/H risks or reporting channels. Schools displayed no information on SEA/H or reporting options, and SOL found little evidence of awareness activities engaging boys, teachers, or school authorities. Interviews indicated feelings of exclusion among some boys and families, who questioned why EAGER primarily targets girls. This highlights the need for communication that explains the project’s focus on girls and engages boys and families in supporting girls’ education and empowerment. As of August 2026, EAGER is developing a Communication Strategy, which the World Bank and PIU have committed to sharing with SOL for input.
4. Limited CSO involvement in implementation: Linha Fala Criança provides an existing child-accessible channel for reporting and referral. Project documents also envisage broader civil society engagement, including consultations and CSO participation in selected project activities. While SOL did not systematically assess CSO participation in project consultations, monitoring identified little involvement beyond Linha Fala Criança in community outreach, SEA/H awareness, reporting channels, or survivor support.
5. Limited community-level presence of focal points: District-level Safeguarding Focal Points reported receiving periodic training on project implementation and child protection. However, visits to project communities are infrequent due to resource constraints  such as fuel shortages, which limit opportunities for community engagement, supervision, and case follow-up.

The EAGER program has an overall package of US$832 million from the International Development (IDA).

Operations in Mozambique under EAGER will receive a US$200 million grant.

Our recommendations include:

1. Strengthen the visibility and accessibility of the GRM: With World Bank support, the PIU should provide beneficiaries with GRM information, including child-friendly materials in schools and communities that explain where and how to report, who the EAGER Safeguarding Focal Points are, how to contact Linha Fala Criança, and what happens after a report. Materials should use local languages and formats appropriate for children and low-literacy contexts. Reporting information should include at least one confidential channel outside the school and state clearly that concerns involving teachers, school authorities, or other figures of authority can be reported safely. The PIU should also provide Safeguarding Focal Points with resources for regular outreach, so that beneficiaries can identify, and build trust in, reporting channels beyond school authorities.
2. Strengthen Safeguarding Focal Points’ capacity for case management: The World Bank should support the PIU in strengthening Focal Points’ practical capacity to manage SEA/H cases and referrals, including in situations where families or community leaders resist institutional reporting. The project should formalize coordination with police, multisectoral referral groups, and service providers, so referrals and case follow-up do not depend on individual Focal Points’ ability to secure their cooperation and obtain updates on referred cases. Regular practical training, official identification, clear guidance on roles and responsibilities, including the distinction between referring and investigating cases, and dedicated resources for travel would strengthen Focal Points’ ability to conduct outreach and follow up on cases.
3. Implement a communication strategy that addresses information gaps and social norms: The PIU should implement a communication strategy that provides clear, accessible information on EAGER’s objectives, beneficiary selection and benefit distribution, girls’ rights, SEA/H reporting channels, and available support services. The strategy should explicitly clarify that teachers, school directors, and community leaders cannot influence eligibility or request money, favors, or sexual relations in exchange for project benefits.
   Communication should reach children, families, teachers, and community leaders through schools, community radio, and other locally appropriate channels. It should address resentment around benefits, misinformation and rumors, positive masculinities, and gender norms that may prevent girls from using bicycles provided by the project. The strategy should also involve girls in designing messages and identifying the reporting channels they consider safe and accessible, and should provide Focal Points and other frontline actors with consistent messages and practical communication materials.
4. Strengthen school and community engagement in SEA/H prevention: The PIU should expand SEA/H and GBV prevention activities to teachers, school authorities, families, boys, and community leaders, and cover prohibited conduct, reporting and referral pathways, survivor support, child marriage, and positive gender norms. The project could adapt the community engagement model previously used under Safe Spaces, including the use of trained community actors, to sustain dialogue and prevention activities in areas where Safeguarding Focal Points cannot maintain a regular presence.
5. Strengthen collaboration with civil society organizations: The World Bank and the PIU should expand collaboration with local organizations with expertise in GBV, child protection, and social and behavior change beyond referral services. CSOs could support community outreach, trusted reporting options, survivor referrals, communication activities, and engagement with boys, families, and community leaders.
6. Develop and implement a monitoring and evaluation plan on SEA/H management: World Bank and PIU monitoring should assess outcomes, not only completed activities. This should include whether girls know where and how to report, whether Focal Points can manage referrals effectively, and whether communication and community engagement reach, and are understood by, the intended audiences. Findings should inform adjustments during implementation.