2022 was a special year in terms of the damage caused by natural disasters in Guinea-Bissau. The country was hit hard by violent winds and river and rain floods, which had a major impact on the agricultural sector and infrastructure, particularly housing, creating serious food security problems and other problems.

Thanks to the intervention of ECOWAS, which financed part of the project to assist the victims of these terrible events, to the tune of 670,000 dollars, a response was able to be initiated, leading to a solid process of impact mitigation and the sustainable reduction of vulnerability in certain affected areas.

The number of people who have benefited from this grant is estimated at around 25,000. In four regions of the country, namely Bissau, Biombo, Quinara and Tombali, the following results have been observed:

• 9,390 m of protective sea walls erected;
• 550 hectares of land reclaimed and protected;
• 1,000 families received food aid;
• 47 families received building materials for their homes,
• 400 families received mosquito nets and mattresses,
• 1,500m of drainage channels opened up and rehabilitated,
• 08 communities in the Tombali region received 100 drainage pipes to protect their rice fields/bas-fonds,
• One primary school rehabilitated,
• Provision of a data storage device following disaster-related losses and damage (a server and 5 laptops),
• Provision of a harmonised form for data collection following loss and damage.

It is worth recalling that the launch of the assistance project for victims of the 2022 floods in Guinea-Bissau was made by His Excellency Mr José Carlos Macedo MONTEIRO, Secretary of State for Public Order, in the presence of Her Excellency Mrs Ngozi UKAEJE, ECOWAS Resident Representative in Guinea-Bissau.