GUINEA BISSAU, 8-22 July – The Portuguese inter-parliamentary group, P&D Factor (Cooperação sobre População e Desenvolvimento,) visited the West African nation of Guinea-Bissau for 2 weeks for the Conference in the National Assembly, involving around 60 MPs as well as a short study tour with two APPG members, the Goodwill Ambassador of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Catarina Furtado, MPs, and the press, to commemorate the launch of Midwife Training.
The trip was a huge success, including a call for more accessible and better SRHR, as well as more women involved in the decision-making processes. There were meetings with people and organizations in the Bissau district about FGM (44.6% prevalence in Guinea-Bissau), early, child and forced marriage (ECFM) and Girls' Rights, as well as the signature in the Parliament of a Declaration of Commitment to the Abandonment of Harmful Practices, by a representative of each neighbourhood where the project "Girls and Women" is in place.
Further links:
- Watch the video aired on the RTP Africa news on the signature of the Declaration of Commitement with the Abandonemnt of FGM and ECFM and promotion of girls rights. (In Portuguese)
- "The word is stronger than the knife" - Article by Catarina Marcelino in Visao (In Portuguese - right click for automatic translation)
- "Guinea-Bissau: Ten neighbourhoods of the Guinean capital declare refusal to the practice of female genital mutilation" - Article in Asemana (In Portuguese - right click for automatic translation)
- "Guinea-Bissau neighborhoods declare renunciation of female genital mutilation" - Article in UCCLA (In Portuguese - right click for automatic translation)
- "Guinea-Bissau: Mission P & D Factor" - Article in Camões, I.P. (In Portuguese - right click for automatic translation)
- "The photographs of Catarina Furtado's humanitarian trip to Guinea-Bissau" - Article in Sapo (In Portuguese - right click for automatic translation)