The Federation of Associations for the Defense and Promotion of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of Guinea-Bissau presented on July 28, 2021, a database on persons with disabilities in Guinea-Bissau following a mapping carried out throughout the country under the project to support persons with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the collaboration and financial support of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

The launch was chaired by the Minister for Women, Family and Social Solidarity, Ms. Maria da Conceição Évora, who during her speech thanked the UNDP for supporting the mapping process developed by the Federation of Associations for the Defense and Promotion of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of Guinea-Bissau.  The Government representative applauded the importance of the data being made public, stating that it will contribute to redefining public measures and policies for social inclusion.

The UNDP Resident Representative, Mr. Tjark Egenhoff, highlighted the importance of mapping for understanding the condition and needs of people with disabilities to inform policy and programmatic interventions for social inclusion. In line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’s principle of Leaving no one behind, the Resident Representative underlined the urgency for the adoption of adequate responses to the specific needs of people with disabilities in order to mitigate the risks of discrimination and social exclusion aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic in Guinea-Bissau.

According to the data made public, there are 11,584 people with disabilities in all regions of the country.  Oio is the region with the highest number of cases with 2,172 (19%), and Bolama-Bijagós is the region that represents the smallest number of persons with disabilities, with a total of 490 (4%).  The data presented are disaggregated by sex and type of disability. Data was collected according to the principles of the Washington Group on Disability Statistics.  Among those with registered disabilities, 6206 (54%) are male and 5378 (46%) female.  Furthermore, the data illustrates statistics by disability category, namely, visual, hearing, physical/motor impairment, among others.

It should be noted that the mapping was developed by 100 surveyors, members of the Federation of People's Associations during the months of November and December 2020. The initiative had tangible results, although some locations were left out of the mapping process due to limitations to logistics.