USAID/Guinea: Background about Guinea

FEBRUARY 5, 2007

Background About Guinea

U.S. interests in Guinea remain strong and multi-faceted. Fragile countries such as Guinea are becoming increasingly recognized as potential breeding grounds for security threats. Therefore, keeping Guinea stable is important to U.S. national security and regional stability. Guinea is bordered by six countries, of which four (Cote d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau and Liberia) have had serious levels of instability or conflict over the past decade.

Throughout this turmoil, Guinea has remained a relatively stable country and has been a receptive host to a significant refugee population, which continues to this day. An unstable Guinea could create massive disruption to the entire sub-region and would impair progress made to date in Liberia and Sierra Leone, and exacerbate the situation in Cote d’Ivoire, requiring significant investments in humanitarian assistance.

The U.S. Government has already invested heavily in bringing peace in both Sierra Leone and Liberia. Our continued presence and investments in Guinea will further reinforce our investment in the Mano River Union. In addition, as the Fouta Djallon highlands in Guinea are important watersheds for three major West Africa rivers that serve over ten countries in the sub-region, instability or civil conflict in Guinea could result in serious environmental damage to this critical watershed.

The U.S. maintains close relations with Guinea and operates the 9th largest U.S. Mission in Sub-Saharan Africa, with representatives from USAID, the Department of State, the Department of Defense, Peace Corps, and the Department of Treasury. Guinea is a moderate Muslim country that maintains a secular orientation in its foreign policy, and has supported U.S. anti-terrorism initiatives through ratification of numerous U.N. conventions on terrorism. The U.S. also seeks to promote increased U.S. private investment in Guinea’s emerging economy. There are several large U.S. corporate operations in Guinea possessing significant shares of their respective markets.

The U.S. Mission in Guinea’s principal Strategic Goals are, in priority: Regional Stability; Democracy and Human Rights; Economic Prosperity and Security; Social and Environmental Issues; and Humanitarian Response. Within these Strategic Goals, U.S. policy seeks to bolster Guinea’s stability, promote sustainable economic and social development, and encourage Guinea to reach international norms and obtain integration into regional cooperative institutions to achieve sound economic, social, political, and environmental progress and policies.

Confronted by some of the worst health indicators in the world, Guinea faces a generalized AIDS pandemic which threatens to undermine the most productive members of Guinean society, including those essential to the country’s development and security. Improving the health of Guineans and slowing the spread of HIV/AIDS also helps to mitigate human suffering and promotes State security. USAID supports this U.S. priority through HIV/AIDS awareness, behavior change, voluntary counseling and testing (VCT), and increased use of essential health products, practices and services.

The Development Challenge
The quality of life for the average Guinean is considered among the lowest in the world. The 2004 UNDP Human Development Index places Guinea 160th out of 177 countries listed, a decline of three positions as compared to 2003. Rural inhabitants represent approximately 80% of the population and 60% of the poor. Women are the mainstay of subsistence farming, accounting for 80% of the country’s food crop production. Life expectancy is 48.9 years, and only 36% of men and 14% of women are literate. The infant mortality rate is 177 per 1,000, maternal mortality is 528 per 100,000 live births, and HIV rates as high as seven percent in urban areas of the Forest Region.

The state of affairs in Guinea is even more startling given the fact that the country has enormous growth potential primarily due to an unusually rich mix of natural resources, including over 25% of the world’s known reserves of bauxite, along with diamonds, gold, iron ore, and other metals. Guinea is also endowed with abundant agriculture, forestry, and fishing potential.

Despite being one of Africa’s richest countries in natural resources and metals, conditions in Guinea have been steadily declining over the past few years. Estimated 2003 real GDP growth is 1.2%, down from 4.2% in 2002, while the rate of inflation has risen more than 30% since January 2003. Poor governance, weak economic policies and poor infrastructures continue to be major obstacles to attracting much needed foreign investment.

Political trends are becoming progressively worrisome as decision-making and authority is becoming increasingly centralized, practices of rampant corruption and impunity continued, and political freedoms and human rights diluted. In the past, the regime of President Lansana Conté provided at least a modicum of economic and political stability. However, this stability is now tentative as political stagnation continues, the economy and quality of life deteriorate, and social discontent rises. In 2004, incidents of rioting have occurred in numerous cities throughout the country over poor living conditions, price increases and poor delivery of essential services.

Faced with swelling political and economic difficulties, and also influenced by reductions in donor support, the Government of Guinea (GOG) has recently shown some signs of reform, including adoption of an Emergency Recovery Program in March 2004 along with some relaxation on rules restricting the organization of political opposition meetings and rallies. Bold measures are needed in structural areas such as combating rampant corruption and poor governance, and reforming the public utilities. Fundamental changes are also needed across GOG institutions to diversify the economy, establish a favorable foreign investment climate, and improve and expand the provision of basic social services.

USAID/Guinea Program
The USAID/Guinea program currently has four Strategic Objectives which reflect the most critical development needs of Guinea, U.S. Mission policy in Guinea, and high level Agency and Presidential priorities. These include: (1) improving natural resources management and incomes in rural areas; (2) improving family planning and the health and welfare of women and children, and preventing the transmission of HIV/AIDS; (3) providing quality basic education to a larger percentage of Guinean children, with emphasis on girls and rural children; (4) and fostering continued democratic progress through strengthening of civil society and promoting good governance.

In addition, USAID iis managing a robust food security program through the Office of Food for Peace. Using the proceeds of monetized vegetable oil, Public Law 480 Title II resources in Guinea are used to improve household food security by promoting sustainable agriculture in targeted areas. This is achieved mainly through the introduction of improved farming methods, post-harvest storage techniques, and high-value seed. P.L. 480 funds are also used to improve maternal and child nutrition.

The USAID West Africa Regional Program (WARP) provides support to Guinea in the areas of economic integration and trade, HIV/AIDS and health, and conflict prevention and anti-corruption. USAID’s Bureau of Global Health is helping to improve child survival by supporting the work of two Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in two health districts in the country. The Farmer-to-Farmer program managed by the Office of Agriculture within USAID’s Economic Growth, Agriculture and Trade Bureau (EGAT/AG) is also active in Guinea, providing volunteer technical assistance to improve natural resources management and agribusiness development.

USAID’s Office of Sustainable Development within the Africa Bureau (AFR/SD) is managing the Africa Education Initiative (AEI) in which over 500,000 Language Arts textbooks were developed and distributed to all primary schools throughout the country during 2004. The Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) continues to provide support to the estimated 83,000 refugees still resident in camps in Guinea.

The direct beneficiaries of USAID's program are the rural poor who constitute the majority of the population. Children, especially young girls in rural areas, benefit from greater access to improved instruction and materials in primary schools and an increased comprehension on the part of parents and the wider community of the value of sending and keeping girls in school. Rural mothers and their small children in Upper Guinea, the poorest of the administrative regions, have access to improved services provided by health center staff that has been professionally developed with USAID's support.

Both men and women throughout Guinea are exercising greater choice in family planning as products are made more widely available through a variety of user-friendly channels. High-risk groups and populations in high prevalence areas will be educated about how to protect themselves against HIV/AIDS.

The Donor Community
Over the past several years the United States has been the top bilateral donor in Guinea, followed by France (rural development and infrastructure, natural resources management, fisheries development and education) and Japan (health, fisheries, and basic education). Canada and Germany also play prominent roles in the health, education, and agriculture sectors. The top multilateral donors in Guinea are the European Union (EU), World Bank, and the United Nations agencies.

The EU concentrates primarily on rural development, social and economic infrastructure, and macro-economic support. The World Bank primarily supports Guinea’s rural and urban infrastructure programs. Coordination among donors remains strong in Guinea, especially in humanitarian sector and the social sectors of health and education.

USAID remains a leader in the fight against AIDS in Guinea, and has taken the lead in the design and implementation of a nation-wide Demographic and Health Survey. USAID also remains one of the largest bilateral contributors to Guinea’s basic education program, taking the lead technical role among donors in promoting quality in basic education, as well as actively developing a standardized, long-term coordination mechanism for donors in Guinea.

Population (July 2008 est.)	10 million
Rank on UNDP Human Development Index (177 countries, 2006)	160
GDP (2005 est.)	$3.6 billion
Annual Per Capita Income ($US, 2008 est.)	$550
Population Growth Rate (2008, est.)	3.1%
Life Expectancy at Birth	49.5 years
Fertility rate, total (births per woman, 2008 est.)	5.7
Infant Mortality Rate	91/1000
Source: CIA World Factbook