Promotion of manual drilling in Guinea Bissau: mapping suitable zones and estimating the potential

Guinea Bissau has made large strides in water supply, but still 35% of villages have no access to safe water. UNICEF is promoting alternative solutions to ensure a proper water supply in these small communities, for example manual drilling. For these reason a mapping study to identify suitable zones for these techniques has been carried out in 2016, using existing groundwater data and the experience from local experts. 88% of Guinea Bissau is considered with feasible hydrologeogical conditions for manual drilling. In 63% of the regions where this technique is applicable, it is adequate for villages of small-medium size. Taking into consideration the results of this study, it seems evident that the promotion of manual drilling could be a valid alternative to improve the situation of access to safe water especially in rural areas.