Project profile — Action for Girls’ and Young Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in Mozambique

• Mozambique (100.00%)

• Population policy and administrative management:
Population policy and administrative management (13010) (30.00%)
Reproductive health care (13020) (20.00%)
Family planning (13030) (20.00%)
STD control including HIV/AIDS (13040) (10.00%)
• Government And Civil Society, General: Ending violence against women and girls (15180) (20.00%)

• Gender equality (principal objective)
• Environmental sustainability (cross-cutting) (not targeted)
• Participatory development and good governance (not targeted)
• Trade development (not targeted)
• Biodiversity (not targeted)
• Climate change mitigation (not targeted)
• Climate Change Adaptation (not targeted)
• Urban issues (not targeted)
• Desertification (not targeted)
• Children's issues (principal objective)
• Youth Issues (principal objective)
• Disaster Risk Reduction(DRR) (not targeted)
• Indigenous Issues (not targeted)
• Disability (not targeted)
• Nutrition (significant objective)
• ICT as a tool for development (not targeted)

This project seeks to improve gender equality in the provinces of Nampula and Zambézia by promoting and helping to realize adolescent girls’ and young women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in Mozambique. The project works at accomplishing this by empowering the poorest and most vulnerable adolescent girls’ and young women with knowledge, skills and access to SRHR services. The project also aims to increase their communities' commitment and support to protect girls’ and women’s rights by engaging boys, men, families and communities to change discriminatory socio-cultural norms and behaviours. Project activities include: (1) promoting life skills and SRHR through the use of safe spaces, peer mentoring and girls' clubs; (2) training local sexual and reproductive health service providers to meet girls' and young women's needs; (3) educating family members, community religious leaders, and boys and men on the importance of girls' education and their SRHR; (4) improving SRHR policies and programming capacity through improved data, monitoring and evaluation and coordination; and (5) amplifying confidential access to SRHR information for girls and young women through innovative use of communications technologies, such as online interactive counselling and text messaging. The project contributes to improving gender equality and the realization of SRHR for about 1.2 million girls and young women in the provinces of Nampula and Zambézia.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) increased informed decision-making and leadership by girls and young women; (2) increased availability of integrated, quality, gender-sensitive SRHR services for girls and young women, particularly those most vulnerable; and (3) improved socio-cultural attitudes, behaviours and practices that protect and promote the SRHR of girls and young women in targeted districts.

Results achieved as of September 2023 (end of project) include: (1) 1,000,801 girls and young women between the ages of 10 and 24 participated in the mentorship program, and received knowledge and skills and strengthened their voices on sexual and reproductive health and rights, thus enabling them to make healthy and informed decisions; (2) the early marriage prevalence rate among mentored girls and young women between the ages of 10 and 19 declined to 0.7%; (3) the early pregnancy rate among mentored girls between the ages of 10 and 19 fell to 0.9%; and (4) 34,183 girls and young women improved their financial independence through access to microfinance, vocational training and/or SME development services.

• Proactive disclosure