High child mortality and malnutrition

In its initial report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, a copy of which was received today by IRIN, Guinea said the government had “harnessed itself to action to improve the situation of children”. In spite of several obstacles, encouraging results had been achieved, it said. The government had focused its efforts in the health and education sectors with programmes targeting women and children. The 44-page report noted, however, that the country had very high rates of infant and child mortality and that malnutrition among children was a major problem. Economic hardship was leading girls into prostitution while consumption of drugs had become a serious problem for young people in urban areas. “One of the fundamental features of the situation of young children in Guinea is the scale of the needs in the face of the scarce resources available,” the report added.