WHO · UNICEF · UN IGME 2024← All Countries

🇬🇼

Maternal & Child Mortality
in Guinea-Bissau

West Africa · #11 of 30 worst globally

Child Deaths Since Jan 1, 2026

0

71.7 per 1,000 live births · Guinea-Bissau

Deaths at Birth Today

0

est. newborns today

Infant Mortality Rate

71.7

per 1,000 · 2.7× world avg

Maternal Mortality Rate

725

per 100,000 · 3.7× world avg

West Africa

Birth Mortality Crisis

Mothers & Newborns
Dying in Guinea-Bissau
During Childbirth

725 maternal deaths per 100,000 — one of the highest in West Africa, driven by a critical shortage of skilled birth attendants.

Newborn & Infant Mortality

71.7deaths per 1,000 live births

2.7× the world average

Maternal Mortality During Birth

725deaths per 100,000 live births

3.7× the world average

👶

Newborn & Child Deaths During Birth in Guinea-Bissau

Political instability has made sustained health investment virtually impossible. Malaria is responsible for nearly a third of all child deaths.

Modest improvement correlated with periods of political stability and external aid.

Leading Causes of Child Death at Birth

Malaria32%

Neonatal causes23%

Diarrhoea15%

Pneumonia13%

Other17%

* Neonatal deaths (first 28 days) represent the largest share of under-5 mortality.

What Happens in the Delivery Room

🏥

Births in a health facility~80%

estimated — lower in conflict/rural areas

👩‍⚕️

Skilled birth attendant present~42%

doctor, midwife or trained nurse

⚠️

Neonatal deaths (first 28 days)48%

of all under-5 deaths occur at birth

🩸

Most preventable with skilled care~75%

of child and maternal deaths

🤱

Maternal Mortality During Birth in Guinea-Bissau

Only 45% of births are attended by skilled professionals. Drug trafficking through Guinea-Bissau has corrupted governance and diverted resources away from social services.

Limited progress. Drug trade economy has entrenched governance failure.

Causes of Death During Labour & Delivery

Haemorrhage29%

Eclampsia22%

Sepsis18%

Obstructed labour16%

Other15%

* Haemorrhage and eclampsia together cause over 50% of deaths — both are treatable with basic skilled care.

Why Mothers Die at Birth Here

🩺

Emergency obstetric care availableLimited

few facilities can manage haemorrhage

🩸

Blood transfusion accessCritical gap

haemorrhage kills within 2 hours

💊

Magnesium sulphate (eclampsia)Often absent

costs $1 — saves lives instantly

✅

If skilled care were universal~75% fewer deaths

WHO estimate for this mortality level

⚠️

Why Is This Still Happening?

Structural Barriers to Safe Birth in Guinea-Bissau

Nine coups since 1974 — chronic political instability

West Africa's main drug trafficking hub

Near-complete aid dependency for health services

Critical shortage of health professionals

High malaria burden throughout the year

🎯

SDG 3 Progress Assessment

Guinea-Bissau's political economy is the primary obstacle to SDG progress.

💡

Prevention & Solutions

How Can We Prevent This in Guinea-Bissau?

📍 The Situation

Guinea-Bissau is a small country with one of West Africa's most fragile health systems. Frequent political instability disrupts health services; the country has fewer than 200 physicians for 2 million people. Antenatal care coverage is approximately 65%, but quality is extremely low — most visits involve a blood pressure check, weight measurement, and little else.

🔬 How Ultrasound Helps

The transformation of antenatal care quality — not just coverage — is the key intervention for Guinea-Bissau. A woman who attends four antenatal visits without receiving an ultrasound remains unscreened for placenta previa, malpresentation, twins, and growth restriction. POCUS training for the nurses and midwives running Guinea-Bissau's antenatal clinics would turn existing visits into genuine clinical assessments.

🎓 The Training Gap

With fewer than 200 physicians nationwide, task-shifting to nurses and midwives is not optional — it is the only viable path. GUSI's short-duration certification model is specifically designed for this scenario.

What a trained provider can detect with a portable ultrasound device

🩸Placenta previa

🔄Malpresentation

👥Twin pregnancy

📉Fetal growth restriction

⚡Pre-eclampsia markers

🫁Childhood pneumonia

💉Internal bleeding

🧠Hydrocephalus

🧮

Interactive Model

POCUS Impact Calculator — Guinea-Bissau

Model based on: 600 scans/provider/year · 15% high-risk detection rate · 47% mortality reduction for detected cases (Swanson et al. 2014 · WHO POCUS in LMICs review)

Number of POCUS-trained providers deployed in Guinea-Bissau50

1 provider250500 providers

Scans per Year

30,000

pregnant women screened

High-Risk Detected

4,500

flagged for referral / intervention

Maternal Deaths Prevented

49

mothers saved per year

Newborn Deaths Prevented

58

babies saved per year

Total Lives Saved Per Year

107deaths prevented

2.1

lives per provider

$231

est. cost per life saved

$24,750

total training investment

* This calculator uses a conservative evidence-based model. Actual impact varies by deployment context, provider experience, and health system capacity. Training cost based on GUSI OB POCUS Essentials (~$495/provider). Mortality reduction from peer-reviewed POCUS implementation studies in low-resource settings.

�

Technology & Education

A Practical Plan to Bring POCUS to Guinea-Bissau

🗺️ Deployment Roadmap for Guinea-Bissau

Baseline assessment — map existing facilities, referral pathways, blood supply, and available midwives, nurses, and physicians who could be trained.
Provider training — enrol local champions in GUSI's OB POCUS Essentials + Pediatric POCUS courses. Certify a core group to train others.
Device procurement — select appropriate portable handheld devices based on power infrastructure, connectivity, and budget (see brands below).
Protocols & referral integration — define what to scan, what findings trigger referral, and how to document scans at the point of care.
Quality assurance — regular image review sessions, outcomes tracking, and refresher training to maintain competency.

📡 Recommended Portable Ultrasound Devices

🦋 Butterfly iQ+

Website →

Single-probe whole-body device covering OB, cardiac, lung, and FAST exams. App-based platform with built-in AI guidance. Designed for low-resource environments — charges via USB and works with any smartphone.

🔵 Philips Lumify

Website →

App-based probe that plugs into Android phones. Multiple transducer heads available for OB and point-of-care use. Widely used in GUSI-supported training programs globally.

🟢 GE Vscan Air

Website →

Wireless, pocket-sized dual-probe handheld. Streams live images to a smartphone app. Excellent battery life — purpose-built for rapid bedside OB and FAST-style assessments.

🔷 Clarius HD3

Website →

High-resolution wireless handheld. Multiple probe configurations available. Strong image quality in a compact form factor — suitable for OB, lung, and neonatal scanning.

Global Ultrasound Institute · GUSI

The training that closes the gap — built for providers in settings like Guinea-Bissau

GUSI trains physicians, nurses, midwives, and community health workers in Point-of-Care Ultrasound. Courses are designed from the ground up for providers in resource-limited settings — short, practical, competency-based, and available online or in person. Every course maps directly to the conditions killing mothers and babies during childbirth.