World Bank accused of ‘turning blind eye’ to sexual abuse in Kenyan schools it funded

Calls grow for independent inquiry after the bank’s internal watchdog found 21 cases of child sexual abuse by teaching staff

The World Bank has been accused of failing to prevent child abuse at a school chain it funded in Kenya.

The bank’s internal watchdog, the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO), found that the bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) had failed to satisfy its own environmental and social requirements before it started funding Bridge International Academies in 2014, and during its supervision of its investment in the project, which came to an end last year.