Guinea-Bissau is a low-income, food-deficit country in West Africa. Despite economic opportunities in agriculture, fisheries, tourism and mining, the country faces significant development challenges.

Nearly 65 percent of the population live below the poverty line, with high infant and maternal mortality and a chronic malnutrition rate of over 28 percent.

Guinea-Bissau is the fifth most vulnerable country to the effects of climate change, with coastal flooding in particular affecting agriculture. The war in Ukraine is causing price volatility, especially for imported rice and wheat flour. In addition, a fall in the price of cashew nuts is reducing the purchasing power of most Bissau-Guineans, who depend on the crop for their incomes.

Gender inequality persists, with women and girls subject to gender-based violence, harmful traditional practices and high maternal mortality rates.

The World Food Programme works with the Government to address the needs of vulnerable men, women, girls and boys. We support rural communities in building resilience to climate shocks and strengthening their livelihoods, while backing the Government’s efforts to establish an inclusive, nutrition-sensitive and climate-shock-responsive social protection system.

What the World Food Programme is doing in Guinea-Bissau

Crisis preparedness and response
WFP plays a leading role in coordinating UN efforts on emergency preparedness, disaster risk reduction, and the strengthening of early-warning systems. WFP provides cash assistance to ensure that households affected by climate and socioeconomic shocks can meet their immediate needs. In collaboration with the Government of Guinea-Bissau and key partners, WFP is supporting the development of a comprehensive national disaster risk management strategy. This includes the institutionalization of anticipatory action protocols, the development of risk-informed response plans, and the integration of community-based early-warning systems. Through its technical leadership and operational footprint, WFP aims to strengthen national systems and foster a proactive approach to crisis response, protecting lives, securing livelihoods and reducing humanitarian need before, during and after emergencies.
Nutrition
WFP supports the Government of Guinea-Bissau in preventing and treating malnutrition among children under 5, pregnant and breastfeeding women, and people living with HIV and tuberculosis. Supported by a debt swap for nutrition between the Governments of Guinea-Bissau and Spain, WFP provides specialized nutritious food and cash assistance to support vulnerable households and improve access to health services. Complementary behaviour change activities promote healthy eating, tackle food-related taboos and encourage the consumption of local, nutritious foods. To strengthen sustainability, WFP has initiated an assessment of the country’s capacity to produce locally sourced nutritional supplements for malnutrition prevention and treatment.
School meals
WFP’s school meals programme supports the Government in its goal of universal coverage by 2027. Nutritious and hot meals reach nearly 200,000 primary-school children, including children with disabilities, across all regions. With the aim of boosting home-grown school feeding, WFP is partnering with local farmers’ cooperatives to supply locally produced food commodities to schools. In addition, WFP is helping the Government develop and implement its national commitment to the School Meals Coalition.
Resilience building
Through its resilience-building programme, WFP is supporting the transformation of Guinea-Bissau’s food systems. In partnership with the Government and with financial support from the African Development Bank, WFP is assisting more than 45,000 smallholder farmers, particularly women and youth, through the distribution of certified seeds, fertilizers and agricultural tools. Additional activities to improve the livelihoods and income of smallholder farmers involve the purchase of locally produced food for school meals and improved access to agricultural inputs and local markets, as well as training on improved agricultural practices, post-harvest management, nutrition and gender equality.
Social protection
WFP supports the Government in its efforts to establish an inclusive and nutrition-sensitive social protection system that is integrated with emergency and nutrition activities. Together with other UN agencies and with support from the UN Sustainable Development Goals Fund, WFP has contributed to the development and adoption of a national social protection policy. WFP plans to support expanding coverage, enhancing funding mechanisms, and strengthening institutional capacity.

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Partners and donors

Achieving Zero Hunger is the work of many. Our work in Guinea-Bissau is made possible by the support and collaboration of our partners and donors, including:
African Development Bank Denmark European Commission FAO Finland

Operations in Guinea-Bissau

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Contacts

Office

Bairro D’Achada (Coqueiros), Avenida Pansau Na Isna
Bissau
Guinea-Bissau

Phone
+245 96 632 55 53; +245 95 603 28 38
Fax
-
Email
[email protected]
For media inquiries
[email protected]
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