Guinea-Bissau continues to struggle to overcome the effects of the 1998–1999 conflict that displaced 350,000 people, impoverished the country and destroyed much infrastructure. The country is currently 172nd of 177 countries in the 2005 Human Development Index of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP): per capita gross domestic product is US$159.5; socio-economic indicators are below most other sub-Saharan African countries and least developed (LDC) countries. According to the 2004 National Millennium Development Goal Report, 80 percent of the population live on less than US$2 per day; 16 percent live in extreme poverty on less than US$1 per day.

This PRRO will assist rural vulnerable groups in a post-conflict environment, targeting regions with the highest vulnerability to food insecurity, the highest acute malnutrition rates and the lowest primary school enrolment rates as identified by the recent vulnerability analysis and mapping study. The Oio, Bafata and Gabu regions will receive 85 percent of WFP food assistance; other regions, as explained in the project document, will receive limited support because of the need for a larger safety net and the needs to establish-early warning contacts and to identify potential implementing partners in the event of political or economic changes or a natural disaster.

In line with WFP’s Strategic Objectives (SOs), the PRRO activities will have the following objectives:

• improve health and nutrition among malnourished children under 5 and pregnant and lactating women (SO3);
• complement medical assistance to tuberculosis, leprosy and HIV/AIDS patients (SO3);
• increase enrolment and attendance rates, especially for girls, at pre-primary and primary schools in the most vulnerable areas (SO4);
• improve household food security in targeted areas through rehabilitation of land and creation of community assets (SO2); 
• strengthen government and local NGO capacity to establish and manage food assistance and hunger-reduction programmes (SO5).

Countries

Guinea-Bissau

The internal conflict in Guinea Bissau, which broke out in June 1998 and lasted 11 months, caused infrastructure destruction, the collapse of administrative structures and the disintegration of the social fabric.It is ranked 175 out of 177 countries according to the Human Development Index(HDI) Report in 2007/2008. Poverty, unemployment and social and eco...