The Guinea-Bissau education system is beset by several structural constraints that severely limit children and youth’s ability to exercise their right to a quality education. Compounding this problem are the lack of public spaces for children and youth to congregate and engage in sports and recreation activities. While the population of Bissau has grown rapidly, more than doubling from 224,789 in 2021 to 525,478 in 2023 (and increasing from 78,676 to 183,917 for the 10-18 age group over the same period), the number of school-based or public multi-sports sports complexes has not increased. Furthermore, existing public recreation infrastructure is not effectively managed nor well-maintained, resulting in low-quality facilities that offer little programming or activities, particularly for marginalized groups. Therefore, children and young people in Guinea-Bissau are beset by interlocking challenges: the low quality and availability of education not only constrains the development of key academic and life skills and limits future opportunities, but youth also have few places outside of school to interact and grow and develop transversal and transferable skills.UNICEF, with funding from the French Development Agency (AFD), will implement a project to increase retention and completion rates, improve physical health, and strengthen transversal skills for students at the Agostinho Neto Secondary School, the Kwame Nkrumah Secondary School, the Rui Barcelo da Cunha secondary school, and the Salvador Allende Primary School, as well as children and youth in the Bairro Reno neighbourhood of Bissau (with a focus on adolescent girls and other marginalized groups).To achieve this goal, UNICEF will rehabilitate sports and academic infrastructure and develop a community management model to oversee the efficient administration of sports facilities and provide high-quality Sports for Development programming.
The Guinea-Bissau education system is beset by several structural constraints that severely limit children and youth’s ability to exercise their right to a quality education. Compounding this problem are the lack of public spaces for children and youth to congregate and engage in sports and recreation activities. While the population of Bissau has grown rapidly, more than doubling from 224,789 in 2021 to 525,478 in 2023 (and increasing from 78,676 to 183,917 for the 10-18 age group over the same period), the number of school-based or public multi-sports sports complexes has not increased. Furthermore, existing public recreation infrastructure is not effectively managed nor well-maintained, resulting in low-quality facilities that offer little programming or activities, particularly for marginalized groups. Therefore, children and young people in Guinea-Bissau are beset by interlocking challenges: the low quality and availability of education not only constrains the development of key academic and life skills and limits future opportunities, but youth also have few places outside of school to interact and grow and develop transversal and transferable skills.UNICEF, with funding from the French Development Agency (AFD), will implement a project to increase retention and completion rates, improve physical health, and strengthen transversal skills for students at the Agostinho Neto Secondary School, the Kwame Nkrumah Secondary School, the Rui Barcelo da Cunha secondary school, and the Salvador Allende Primary School, as well as children and youth in the Bairro Reno neighbourhood of Bissau (with a focus on adolescent girls and other marginalized groups).To achieve this goal, UNICEF will rehabilitate sports and academic infrastructure and develop a community management model to oversee the efficient administration of sports facilities and provide high-quality Sports for Development programming.
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