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“Mobilizing Rural Youth To Serve As Peace Building Leaders” in Guinea Bissau
Overview
Guinea-Bissau is one of the poorest countries in the world, ranking 178th according to the United Nations Human Development Index, with an overall score (0.461) well below the average of the countries located in Sub-Saharan Africa (0.541), and with a population of 1.9million. Guinea-Bissau’s Atlantic Ocean coast is composed of an archipelago, the Bijagos, of more than 100 islands. It borders Senegal to the north and Guinea to the south and east, and despite its size, is host to a large variety of ethnic groups, languages, and religions.
In the political context of the country, it started in August 2015 and lasts until now, with its youth and adolescents who have become increasingly exposed to political instrumentalization by various sides as the negative rhetoric increased. A joint analysis carried out by UNICEF and UNDP in 2017 found that 58% of households are multidimensionally poor, while 97% of children are deprived of at least one basic right. Civic and political marches for and against the status quo are suspected of including paid marchers and trouble makers, most of them youth. These marches are adding to the climate of instability. Even adolescents, while not in the voting age-group, have been observed to participate in demonstrations and are at potential of becoming unwilling part of disruptive activities.
Adding to this situation there is a perceived deprivation that both young adults and adolescents feel about their right to participate in decision-making at any level. This type of exclusion leads youth to turn its back to positive social norms and adopt unhealthy coping mechanism. One of the failings of the current system is that it does not meaningfully involve all stakeholders, especially the marginalized groups, such as the youth and adolescents.
Report Details
| Year Published | |
| Type | |
| Joint | Yes |
| Partner/s | N/A |
| Consultant name | |
| Agency Focal Point | Mamadou Sadialiou Bah |
| Focal Point Email | msbah@unicef.org |
| Managed by Independent Evaluation Office | No |
| Geographic Scope | Country |
| Country/ies |
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“Mobilizing Rural Youth To Serve As Peace Building Leaders” in Guinea Bissau
