"Guinea is the watertower
of Africa"
The rivers Niger, Gambia, and Senegal belong to the 22 west african rivers that have their basin in guinea
"Guinea is the watertower
of Africa"
The rivers Niger, Gambia, and Senegal belong to the 22 west african rivers that have their basin in guinea
The Country
Guinea, also known as Guinea-Conakry, is located in West Africa and is surrounded by Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Ivory Coast, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Guinea has been independent since 1958 and is officially called “The Republic of Guinea”.
The capital Conakry has more than two million inhabitants.
The Climate
Guinea has a mix of two tropical climates: the tropical monsoon climate in the coastal areas and a tropical savanna climate in the rest of the country. This translates into a hot and humid climate from December to May and a heavy rain season from June to November. Sometimes businesses are even forced to stop working for a while due to the heavy rainfall. In the coastal area – where our project is located – the rain season starts a little later. In July and August, there can be more than a thousand millimeters per month of rainfall.
In total, more than 4000 millimeters fall during the rainy season. Guinea is therefore one of the wettest countries in West Africa and with its 1300 watercourses, including the source of the Niger and Senegal, it is considered the ‘Water Tower of Africa’ and therefore also called the ‘Garden of West Africa‘.
The Demographics
Guinea is 245.857 km2 in size and has 13.35 million inhabitants. (Holland is 41.543 km2)
The official language of the country is French. Besides French, several other African languages are spoken. The working population is mainly dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. The average GDP per capita in Guinea is €1.500. In comparison, the average GDP per capita in the Netherlands in 2021 was €46.000.
Guinea is a spiritual country of which 85% is Muslim, 10% Catholic and 5% animist. Animism is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence.
Social & SDGs
One of Guinea’s biggest social challenges is providing access to good healthcare for every inhabitant. Even when the Guinean population is able to afford to go to the hospital, hospitals are hard and costly to reach for most inhabitants. Especially people living in villages often have to travel up to 70km to go to the nearest hospital. For pregnant women, this translates into three out of ten women dying during childbirth and an infant mortality rate of 6.4%. In addition, one out of two women doesn’t receive post-natal care within two days of giving birth.
Guinea is on the list of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC). The objective of the DAC is to promote development cooperation and achieve the development goals (SDGs). Our project focuses most on contributing to SDGs 1,3 and 8.
The Beneficiaries
One of Guinea’s main social challenges is providing access to good healthcare for every inhabitant.
Most hospitals are at a distance of 50 to 70km. Even when the Guinean population can afford to visit these more expensive hospitals, they first need to get there. Arranging transportation traveling to the nearest hospital is quite a challenge. There are not too many cars or scooters and those are also not for free. For that reason, most people postpone their visits to a doctor to avoid the high costs. They are taking unacceptable risks for their health and sometimes even worse.
For pregnant women and women that are in labor, this translates into three out of ten women dying during pregnancy and childbirth. The result is that Guinea has an infant mortality rate of 6.4%. In addition, one out of two women doesn’t receive post-natal care within two days of giving birth.
Guinea is on the list of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC). The objective of the DAC is to promote development cooperation and achieve the development goals (SDGs). The project focuses most on contributing SDGs 1,3 and 8
The Location in Mamia
The hospital is located in the southwest in the district of Boffa and more specifically in the area of Kolissohko.
The village nearby is Mamia. We visited this area before and in 2016 we had the possibility to buy a large piece of land which is perfect for all our plans after we finalize the hospital