The construction of a bridge was planned across the Zambezi River in Mozambique to speed up the flow of traffic, bring much-needed jobs into the area and improve access to markets for local producers.

Question: What effects could bridge construction have on children’s rights and how could these effects be anything but positive on girls, boys and their families?

Answer: Initial analysis demonstrated that bridge construction would mean an influx of young, single, male workers into the region as well as the growth of illegal settlements around the construction site to service the workers. An identified risk was that children’s right to development and protection could be compromised with a rise in exploitative and harmful child labour around these settlements (and a corresponding rise in school drop-outs), as well as a potential increase in child prostitution and child sexual abuse, with corresponding rises in teenage pregnancy and STDs.

Solution: Potential negative effects on child rights could be mitigated because they were identified during programme identification and formulation phases so that measures were taken to address them. Measures to mitigate negative effects included: developing codes of conduct for construction companies; improving the capacity of police to protect child rights and prosecute sexual abuse; improving employment opportunities for older girls and women around the construction site; providing financial or other incentives to families who maintained children in school (e.g. school meal programmes, scholarships); and training youth in reproductive health.

(Source: Adapted from Save the Children UK and Norway (March 2006), A Bridge Across the Zambezi River – What Needs to be Done for Children?)