A bridge across the Zambezi: What needs to be done for children?

In 2004 and 2005, Save the Children UK and Save the Children Norway conducted research with a view to gaining a better understanding of the existing vulnerabilities and risks facing children in Caia and Chimuara prior to the pending construction of a new bridge across the Zambezi River. The findings have created a concern that a combination of local circumstances and external factors have made this river area, located in the central region of Mozambique, particularly dangerous for children. The communities here already endured conditions of poverty and a weakening of family and community structures. Exacerbating these conditions are disturbing patterns of sexual abuse and exploitation of girls in the form of child prostitution.