Two regional hospitals in Guinea-Bissau lack qualified staff, reliable water and functioning waste systems, per a joint ECOWAS and German Development Cooperation assessment from 13 to 23 October 2026.
The mission, carried out through ECOWAS’s Regional Stabilisation and Development Fund and GIZ, examined capacity-building needs at the Bafatá and Gabú regional hospitals.
It combined institutional consultations in Bissau with technical visits to both facilities, and was conducted in consultation with national authorities, technical services, regional health officials and hospital management teams.
Preliminary findings were presented to the FRSD National Advisory Committee, the Ministry of Public Health and the authorities responsible for natural resources and sanitation.
Shared problems at both hospitals
The assessments found several challenges common to both sites: insufficient financial resources, shortages of qualified personnel, weaknesses in information-management systems, and difficulties with hospital hygiene, healthcare waste management and access to safe water.
At Bafatá Regional Hospital, the mission reported the absence of a structured solid waste management system and a shortage of qualified personnel, alongside difficulties in responding to the population’s healthcare needs, particularly for respiratory diseases.
At Gabú Regional Hospital, it identified a non-functional existing incinerator, a shortage of specialised technicians, limited autonomy in certain management decisions, and challenges relating to water supply and sanitation.
Six proposed areas of intervention
The consultations produced six potential areas of intervention:
- Strengthening administrative and financial management and digitalising hospital information systems;
- Improving quality of care, monitoring and evaluation, and quality-assurance mechanisms;
- Strengthening infrastructure and biomedical equipment maintenance;
- Improving hospital hygiene, sanitation facilities and handwashing infrastructure;
- Establishing or strengthening hospital waste management systems;
- Improving access to safe water through infrastructure assessments and stronger water treatment, testing and maintenance arrangements.
These are proposed priorities rather than commitments. According to the assessment, they are to be further assessed and prioritised with the competent authorities on the basis of additional technical assessments and a detailed estimation of needs and costs.
Next steps
The mission’s stated next step is to consolidate and validate the findings with the relevant institutions and develop a prioritised and costed action plan setting out responsibilities, timelines and expected results.
Any subsequent intervention would remain subject to FRSD eligibility criteria, resource availability and applicable institutional procedures.
ECOWAS and GIZ said the exercise had strengthened dialogue between them and national stakeholders on the two hospitals’ priority needs and established a technical basis for developing potential interventions tailored to conditions at Bafatá and Gabú.
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