Bissau Guinea is now one of the poorest countries in the world, is massively in debt and is reliant on foreign aid to prevent its total collapse as a nation state. Its a sobering fact that one out of every five children living in Guinea Bissau will not reach their fifth birthday, one of the highest child mortality rates for the under fives in the world.

Life expectancy of the rest of the population is around 47 years and the majority of the population is illiterate, with just over 27% of females being able to read and write, reflecting the fact that barely 6% of all children in Guinea Bissau attend secondary school preferring or needing to work instead to supplement already meagre family incomes in a country where over half live the population on 60p or less a day.

You can help when you sponsor a child in Guinea Bissau: