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Volunteer Work Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea is situated on the west coast of Central Africa and covers an area of approximately 11,000 square miles). Formerly known as Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name reflects its location near both the Equator and the African region of Guinea. Two things affect the volunteer work project outlook in Equatorial Guinea. Firstly it has a population of just 1.634 million (2021) and secondly it is sub-Saharan Africa's third largest oil exporter making for a thriving economy albeit a very unbalanced one with allegations that most of the country's wealth is siphoned off to line the pockets of the ruling elite. Indeed despite this wealth, Equatorial Guinea remains in 145th place out of 191 countries and territories in 2021 when ranked in terms of life expectancy, literacy, access to knowledge and the living standards of a country.
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Nearly three-quarters of the population live under the poverty line whilst the offshore oil industry engages mainly foreign workers leaving the local population to live off subsistence farming without access to electricity, basic education or heath care facilities. Access to clean water remains a challenge, with only half the population having it and malnutrition affects 26% of children, leading to stunted growth. Vaccination rates are also alarmingly low. Additionally, Equatorial Guinea has one of the lowest education rates globally with 42% of children not attending primary school, and only half of those who do manage to complete it. Despite all this, there are few volunteer work placements in Equatorial Guinea and those that do exist focus on caring for orphaned children and promoting access to education, nutrition and health care as well as family strengthening. If you run or know of a volunteer work project in Equatorial Guinea let us know by contacting us here. We look forward to hearing from you! 
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