Fatou N’dUre Baboudóttir

Background: Socioeconomic determinants of health are well-documented, yet adolescents’ perspectives are often under-represented. The study aimed to engage adolescents in a low-income sub-Saharan setting to explore their daily experiences and analyse their perceptions of inequality within their local environment. Methods: A photovoice project was conducted from January to March 2024 with six adolescents aged 16–19 years in Bissau, the capital of Guinea-Bissau. Participants used disposable cameras to capture up to 15 photos each, representing daily inequalities and documented reflections through narratives using the PHOTO method, that is, writing notes about the photo, its context and potential implications for change. After 2 weeks, participants selected key images and engaged in a focus group discussion to analyse their photos. Thematic analysis was conducted using Atlas.ti. Results: Four themes of inequality emerged: education, health and sanitation, environment and economy. Adolescents highlighted inadequate access to healthcare and sanitation facilities, environmental degradation, disparities between public and private schools and economic hardship limiting access to education and work. Their narratives revealed frustration over systemic barriers, yet demonstrated awareness and creativity in navigating challenges. Conclusions: Adolescents’ visual narratives provide insights into their experiences of inequality, highlighting the value of participatory methods in amplifying youth voices. The findings suggest the need for equity-focused interventions addressing structural determinants for inequality across the four identified themes. Including adolescents in policy development is important to promote social justice and their well-being.

The COVID-19 pandemic affected the lives of children in a myriad of ways across the world. It exposed and aggravated existing inequalities between children within countries and across continents and hampered education. In Guinea-Bissau, school closure was one of the first restrictions implemented to confront the emerging pandemic. The aim was to describe and analyse the experiences of adolescents of school closures in the capital Bissau, their concerns about their future and manifestations of inequality. Data were collected by semi-structured, open-ended interviews with 30 adolescents aged 15–17 years three months into the pandemic during an enforced state of emergency. A thematic analysis identified five themes: appreciation of education, feeling left behind, being stuck in confinement, suggestions for support, and a disrupted future. The results highlight global rather than local inequalities in the demographic, manifested by a lack of targeted educational support for public and private school students; they knew about such efforts elsewhere. The school-attending participants suggested ways to mitigate disruptions in their education, while those out of school aiming to return saw their possibilities fading away. They appreciated education for personal and national benefits, and participants worried about the long-term effects of the pandemic. The study highlighted education loss for all and disrupted future expectations.

Background Worldwide, governments have implemented restrictions on movement and gatherings to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. In the spirit of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, children have a right to express their opinion on matters of concern to them. The study aimed to describe and analyse how adolescents in the capital Bissau understood the unfolding COVID-19 pandemic and their lived experiences during the first 3 months of the pandemic. Methods Collaborators identified participants in five urban areas in Bissau in June 2020. Semistructured, open-ended interviews were conducted with 30 adolescents aged 15–17 years, attending private and public schools or out-of-school. The interviews were conducted in Kriol, recorded, transcribed, translated and analysed. Results All the participants were heavily affected by the confinement measures during a state of emergency. Almost all believed in the realness of coronavirus while there were some doubts about its arrival in the country. The consequences were staying at home, enforced with increased police violence. At the same time, other violence on the streets or between neighbours had decreased. A few participants said they liked staying at home because they appreciated spending more time with their families. Most participants claimed that they and their family members tried to follow preventive measures. Almost all participants voiced concerns about the worsening financial situation at home, leading to food scarcity. Nearly all the adolescents were tired of the lockdown and worried about the pandemic’s implications on their future opportunities. Conclusions Study participants, here adolescents in Bissau, have a clear notion of their existence and the current situation’s potential negative impact on their future. Their voices need to be heard and acted on, which may soften the lockdown’s negative impact on adolescents in Guinea-Bissau, as elsewhere.