Digital technology plays an important role in achieving many of the Sustainable Development Goals. However, access is uneven, with 80% of those in high-income countries being online compared to 20% of those in the 47 least developed countries. This study aimed to describe and analyse adolescents’ access to and usage of digital technology in Guinea-Bissau and its implications. In June 2017, a survey with a locally adapted Planet Youth questionnaire was implemented in the capital, Bissau, whereby classes in 16 secondary schools were surveyed on a variety of issues. In total, 2039 randomly selected students participated; the survey included ten questions specifically on the access to and use of digital technology. Half of the respondents had access to desktop/laptops, and one-third used mobile internet daily; about two-thirds had an experience of social media. Explanatory variables included educational institution, parental education, economic situation, and gender. Furthermore, students’ experience of social media was significantly linked to bullying, anxiety, depression, smoking and alcohol consumption. Many adolescents in Bissau have no experience of using digital technology, including for schoolwork. Access improvements are necessary so that young Bissau-Guineans are not to be left behind in developing their capabilities and can benefit from proficiency in the use of digital technologies. At the same time, potential harmful usage of the media requires the implementation of preventive measures.

Background: COVID-19 is mainly a disease of adults but can affect vulnerable children indirectly through social containment measures. The study aimed to explore the impact of the pandemic on the lives of Quranic schoolboys,almudos, who beg on behalf of their teachers,chernos,in Guinea-Bissau.Methods: Data were collected in July 2020 during a state of emergency. Data rest on semistructured interviews with 14almudosand observations. Thealmudos, aged 12–16 years, were identified in the capital Bissau and the regional centre Gabú.Results: Four interconnected themes were found. The first, hardship, was brought by the COVID-19 pandemic and caused by lockdown and police threats, resulting in a decrease in alms and hunger. The second, circumvention of calamity, included preventive measures the boys undertook and concerns with crowdedness impeding social distancing. Relations with others is the third theme. These had changed with sharply reduced contacts with neighbours and other providers of alms. The parents had more frequent telephone contact with their sons, and encouraged them to continue their studies. At the same time, thechernosandalmudospassed more time together, and they dedicated more time than earlier to the studies and prayers. The fourth theme has to do with the boys’ concerns about their long-term aspirations—to complete their studies and become respectedchernos, for which begging was seen as an integral part.Conclusion: Thealmudossuffered from decreased alms, resulting in hunger. COVID-19 was only an additional burden to the boys, who are used to facing challenges while begging to complete their religious education. According to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, children have a right to develop their capabilities in line with their future aspirations. Governments and child rights organisations need to address the specific needs ofalmudosin respectful collaboration with them, their parents, thechernosand their communities.

This article treats repatriation of Bissau-Guinean Quranic schoolboys from Senegal where they beg for their teachers who are named marabouts. Data is based on fieldwork that occurred between 2009 and 2017 and focuses on the marabouts, parents, villagers, NGO staff and boys who have been repatriated to Guinea-Bissau. Repatriation benefits some actors while others are hurt. The authorities strive to fulfill commitments to combat child trafficking vis-à-vis the international community, however without prosecuting the marabouts who are influential community leaders. The NGOs keep their business going and “capture” boys for repatriation, which some marabouts and parents use as free transport for boys to Guinea-Bissau in line with seasonal labor demands. Many of the repatriated boys return to Senegal to escape stigma, rejection, and mistrust attached with repatriation at the family and community levels. While back, some boys keep on with Quranic studies, others run some business or take village boys with them to beg. Through repatriation, boys circulate between the countries, yet most Bissau-Guinean Quranic schoolboys in Senegal never enter the circle. The marabouts, empowered with symbolic capital, adjust to the dynamism of repatriation as a social space, aiming to keep the position as the masters of the game.

Population movement is a major driver for infectious disease transmission and can impact the success of disease control and elimination strategies. The relationship between disease transmission and permanent migration is well documented, but fewer studies have considered how different types of population mobility affects disease transmission and control programmes. This qualitative study was conducted on two islands of the Bijagós archipelago, Guinea Bissau to understand spatial and temporal population movement, and reasons for these movements, within, between and away from the Bijagós islands. Data were collected on two islands using key informant interviews (n = 8), daily activity-location interviews (n = 30) and focus group discussions (n = 6). Data were analysed thematically using an adapted typology of mobility. Findings revealed that movement within and between islands, and from islands to the mainland, was a common feature of island life for men and women alike. It was usual for trips away from home to last for several months at a time. Five key reasons for travel were identified: subsistence activities; family events; income generating activities; cultural festivities and healthcare. These movements often occurred erratically all year round, with the exception of seasonal travel within and between islands for agricultural purposes. Our study characterised detailed patterns of human mobility in the Bijagós islands as a first step towards understanding the potential impact of different types of mobility on disease exposure, transmission and public health programmes. Short-term mobility may have a significant impact on the spread of infectious diseases with short incubation periods. Predictable movements, such as travel for seasonal agricultural work, should be taken into account for tailoring and increasing the reach of public health interventions. Further research is needed to understand the role of human behaviour and mobility in disease transmission and control across the archipelago.

Balanced medical and criminal justice approaches addressing determinants of alcohol and other drugs (AOD) use are central to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 3 and 16. However, data on AOD use in resource-poor settings are characterised by relative paucity and anecdote. This study aimed to describe and analyse AOD use susceptibility and its determinants among school-attending adolescents in the capital Bissau, Guinea-Bissau. Survey data were collected through a locally adapted Planet Youth questionnaire in June 2017 across 16 schools in Bissau. The 2039-strong sample was selected through a multi-stage, random cluster process. Participants’ lifetime alcohol use was 27.3%, smoking 10.8%, and cannabis use 3.6%. In each instance, the ‘15 years and above’ age bracket was the most common initiation period, signifying increased instigation in later adolescence. Subsequent Varimax Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of 312 variables captured data-driven models of AOD use susceptibility, implying imitated, polydrug use among initiates. Linear regression analysis revealed drinking, group violence, male gender, school dismissal and relationship breakdown as explanatory variables. Overlapping predictive variables suggest singular interventions may pre-empt myriad antisocial behaviours. PCA offers alternatives to singular, potentially myopic quantifications of drug use. PCA facilitates the creation of context-sensitive composite variables, enabling the identification of related outcome behaviours relevant to studies’ sociocultural settings.

The marketing of sweetened and flavoured tobacco in the early 1990s resulted in an upsurge in waterpipe smoking (WPS), mainly among young people and women. Here, we estimate prevalence rates among school-attending adolescents aged 14–19 (girls 52%) for a lifetime experience of WPS and within the last 30 days (WPS < 30 days) and identify influential factors for such smoking in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau. A random sample (N = 2039) was drawn from a class-based register created for 16 schools in Bissau; attending students in June 2017 were invited to respond to a locally adapted Planet Youth questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, odds ratio with 95% confidence interval, and multinomial logistic regression analysis were used to identify influential factors for WPS. The prevalence rates for a lifetime experience of WPS and within < 30 days were high, 17.7% and 15.0%, respectively, with no significant gender difference. For both groups, a multinomial logistic regression analysis identified attending higher grades in school, use of alcohol and being a victim of sexual violence as significant, influential factors. The overlapping of influential factors suggests preventive work against substance abuse should focus on less stigmatising behaviour, such as WPS and firmer implementation of the Framework Convention of Tobacco Control (FCTC).