Our plan in Guinea Bissau

Plan is working at the grassroots level in Guinea Bissau to empower communities to bring real and lasting change, so that their children have the opportunity to reach their full potential.

Plan has been working in the Bafata region of Guinea Bissau, one of Africa's smallest countries, since 1995.  Plan Guinea Bissau's programs aim to address the following issues affecting children:

• Poor education quality, attendance and literacy
• Limited water access and sanitation
• Poor maternal and infant health and high incidences of disease
• Low awareness of child rights

Plan's programs and strategies to address these issues include:

Education

Primary schools in Guinea Bissau have an insufficient number of teachers and a low-level of required qualifications which affects educational quality.  Plan Guinea Bissau works to increase primary school enrolment and reduce dropout and repetition rates through strengthening school infrastructure and available resources, feeding programs and training for teachers and parents.

Health

Plan Guinea Bissau assists strengthening of local health services with an aim to provide greater access and more effective preventative healthcare programs relating to child survival and reproductive healthcare services.

Water access and sanitation

Poor water access and insufficient water distribution points and latrines contributes to prevalence of water-borne diseases and epidemics such as cholera.  Plan Guinea Bissau works to increase access to safe water and sanitation through construction of infrastructure, sanitation awareness programs and encouragement of community involvement and management.

Child rights and relationship building

Plan assists communities in Guinea Bissau who are unaware of issues relating to child rights, such as birth registration, through integration of the promotion of children's rights through other Plan programs.  Plan also works in an advocacy role and has contributed to the forming of a children's parliament, where children have the opportunity to participate and assert themselves.

Country Facts

Country	Guinea Bissau	Australia
Flag
Population	1.5 Million	21 Million
Language	Portuguese	English
Capital	Bissau	Canberra
GDP per capita (USD/year)	182	$37,300
Life expectancy	44.8	81.5
Access to safe drinking water	59%	100%
Literacy	39.6%	100%
Source:	United Nations: Millennium Development Goals Report 2006