Guinea-Bissau 2018 © Raul Manarte/MSF

Guinea-Bissau

Years of political instability and economic stagnation have had a serious impact on a crumbling health system.

Our work in Guinea-Bissau

After working to improve pediatric care in Guinea-Bissau for nearly six years, in 2020 Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) ended our activities in the country, handing many over to the health ministry.

What's happening in Guinea-Bissau?

In the central region of Bafatá, MSF worked to reduce childhood mortality by managing the regional hospital’s neonatal and pediatric wards, and running a nutrition program for children under 15 years of age. We worked in the main pediatric hospital in the country, in the capital of Bissau, managing the intensive care unit (PICU) around the clock. Our teams also supported several health centers in rural areas and trained community health workers to diagnose and treat diarrhea, malaria, and acute respiratory infections. In 2020, MSF teams also responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, by providing training to medical staff.

How we're helping in Guinea-Bissau

Our overall objective in Guinea-Bissau was to reduce the number of deaths in the under-15 age group in areas of the country which had some of the highest infant mortality rates in the world. The main diseases affecting children are respiratory infections, malaria, diarrhea, and meningitis. Among newborns, the leading causes of death are asphyxia and neonatal sepsis.

We managed the 15-bed pediatric emergency room as well as the pediatric and neonatal intensive care units (with a total of 64 beds) in the country’s only tertiary facility, Simão Mendes national hospital, in the capital Bissau. We established a triage system in the pediatric emergency unit to guarantee faster and more efficient treatment. We also supported Ministry of Health staff with management skills development and training, both for their regular activities and for the COVID-19 response. Neonatal care requires many resources, but MSF proved it was possible to go beyond the basics and treat the most complex and critical patients by introducing new protocols and technologies that are not usually in place in low-income countries. When our teams left in June 2020, we handed over not only the facilities, but also biomedical equipment, pharmaceutical products, a specialist laboratory for emergency services, and a knowledgeable, experienced and enthusiastic team.

How we're helping

120

malaria cases treated

130

staff in 2020 (full-time equivalent)

1998

year MSF first worked in the country

*Data from MSF International Activity Report 2021

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