Helping half a million girls stay in school in Mozambique

To address these challenges, in 2021, the Government of Mozambique launched a program called “Eu Sou Capaz” with support from the World Bank through the Harnessing the Demographic Dividend Project. The program aims to provide better opportunities for education and access to services for adolescent girls and young women. Specifically, Eu Sou Capaz helps young girls stay in school through incentives, such as providing school uniforms and bicycles to girls in selected primary and secondary grades. The program also helps girls who are out of school by providing life-skills training and mentoring in community safe spaces for themselves, their families, and their community leaders.

Schools covered by the program have seen a decreasing trend of school dropout rates since 2022 in Grades 5, 6, and 7. Since the program started, these schools have also seen an increase in the Gender Parity Index – measuring the relative access to education of males and females – from 0.82 in 2021 to 0.84 in 2022 due to an increase in girls’ enrolment and school attendance.

The program intended to assist 300,000 girls, but it has already surpassed this goal, assisting nearly half a million girls in the selected districts.

In Nampula province, where Ana lives, the Eu Sou Capaz has had a ripple effect, with some schools registering zero dropouts and others welcoming back girls who had left school.

“In Muezia and Mulepane localities in Nampula District, all the 221 girls benefiting from Eu Sou Capaz and enrolled in Grades 5 to 7 remained in school. This means zero dropouts,” said Elódia Chiure, Service Provider Provincial Coordinator for the program in Nampula.  “Netia and Itoculo Primary Schools, in Monapo District, welcomed back 626 girls, ” she added.

This 5-year project (2021-2025) is implemented by the National Institute for Youth under the Secretariat of State for Youth and Employment in partnership with service providers and in coordination with the Ministry of Education and Human Development. The World Bank is committed to supporting Mozambique in expanding and improving social protection and jobs for girls, women, and youth. Girls and young women in Mozambique will gain greater access to education and economic empowerment opportunities in the coming years thanks to the newly approved East Africa Girls’ Empowerment and Resilience program (EAGER), which will scale up the Eu Sou Capaz approach, with a stronger focus on preventing gender-based violence.