Selected Issues Papers

Guinea-Bissau’s social sectors face persistent challenges despite the progress made over the past few years. This paper reviews existing social protection programs in the country, assesses the efficiency and adequacy of public spending, and formulates recommendations to enhance value for money in social spending. Government spending on education and social protection has been low compared to regional peers, which partly reflects weak domestic revenue mobilization and volatile donor support. However, total health spending has been relatively high due to large private out-of-pocket payments. The much-needed expansion of health and education services to cover a larger segment of the population is expected to generate significant structural fiscal pressures. Regarding social protection, the analysis shows that Guinea-Bissau would benefit from implementing ambitious and well-targeted social programs and moving away from untargeted subsidies.