Currently we are working in Guinea Conakry West Africa
Introduction 
The Republic of Guinea, on the west coast of Africa is bordered to the north by Senegal and Mali and on the east by Mali and the Ivory Coast, on the south by Liberia and Sierra Leone, on the west by the Atlantic Ocean and on the northwest by Guinea-Bissau.
Guinea's people are among the poorest in West Africa. The suffering caused by war competes with the many development challenges. Guineans live in extreme poverty with average earnings of less than $1 a day. There is little to no electricity, landlines, running water or sewage system. The infrastructures are lacking and no security.
Guinea is facing political turmoil as the country awaits the election of its new President.
Numbers at a Glance*
- By GDP, Guinea ranks 147th out of 190 countries in 2009.
- The average life expectancy is 49 years old.
- The mortality rate of children under 5 is 160 in 1,000 live births.
- The prevalence of HIV in people between the ages of 15-49 is 1.6%
- Over their lifetimes, women have a 1 in 18 chance of dying
of complications during pregnancies or in childbirth.
- Girls typically spend only six years in school.
- The country is suffering from 30 percent inflation.
* These statistics date back to 2007
*Sources: UNICEF, CIA World Factbook, World Bank, UNDP
Updated by TINL 2/2010
Country Information
Republic of Guinea is home to 9.4 million people. 44 % of the population is under 15 years of age. Life expectancy is 54 years. Although Guinea is one of the richest countries in the world, its population endures high poverty and malnutrition rates. Since 2000, the country has experienced socio-economic adversity. Governance problems, limited economic progress and the overall deterioration of the economy have undermined living condition. A loaf of bread cost almost $8 U.S almost half of the population lives below the international poverty line, every resource is exported from this country and everything is also imported, Guinea has very little infrastructure including waste disposal. Most impoverished residents defecate in the ocean, and trash-strewn street are inescapable part of life.
The Land marked of Guinea is described by poverty and the presence of almost 1million refugees and displaced persons, mostly from the neighboring countries of Liberia, and Sierra Leone.
The average Guinean live less then a $1 A day, the need for food, Water and Electricity is a big crisis in guinea. Half of rural households have no access to safe drinking water, and only 3 % have access to electricity. The level of education in Guinea is extremely low: almost three quarters of women and slightly more than half of all men have never attended school.
Education
Although access to education has increased in recent years, the quality of that education has fallen. Only three in ten Guineans are literate, and 85% of second graders are unable to read grade-appropriate texts.
It is estimated that 84 % of women are unable to read or write, as are 56 % of men.
Guinean women
In guinea man are allowed to marry more then one women, and they most likely abandon the women with the children with no source of help, Violence against women is also very common in guinea On average, a woman will have 5.7 children. More than one quarter of all women is aged between 15 and 19 when they have their first child. Only 9 % of married women of reproductive age use any form of contraception, and only 6 % of theses use modern methods of contraception.
The principal of equality between men and women had not been enough to change centuries-old customs, such as forced marriage the result of a family putting pressure on a girl to enter into a marriage against her will, food taboos, and female genital mutilation.
Female Genital Mutilation
The age at which girls undergo FGM ranges from several months to 14 years. Most girls are younger than five (36 %), and another third are aged between 5 and 10 (32 %). Between the ages of 10 and 14 ca. 27 % of girls are subjected to FGM, while about 3 % are older than 14. The main reasons given for continuing the practice are social acceptance (64%) and religious requirements (32 %). It is also believed that excision brings hygienic benefits, hat it will preserve virginity and that it will improve girls' chances on the marriage market. Society believes that FGM is part of the initiation rites of a girl that it cleanses her and teaches her to behave appropriately.
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