In Guinea, a new partnership paves the way for more decent jobs and more inclusive social protection
Conakry, Guinea – On 21 July 2026, the Government of the Republic of Guinea and the United Nations system launched a joint program to promote productive and decent jobs, expand social protection coverage, and support just transitions. This initiative will contribute to strengthening public employment policies, improving the economic prospects of the most vulnerable populations, and supporting more inclusive growth, in line with national development priorities.
Implemented under the technical leadership of the International Labour Organization (ILO), in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank, the program is financed by the Joint SDG Fund and the World Bank. It represents the Guinean implementation of the Global Accelerator for Jobs, Social Protection and Just Transitions, an initiative led by the United Nations Secretary-General to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.
By joining this initiative in June 2024, Guinea reaffirmed its commitment to placing decent work, social protection, and inclusion at the heart of its economic transformation. The program will support the Government's efforts to strengthen employment policies, promote social dialogue, and mobilize the investments necessary for job-creating growth.
Concrete results for workers and businesses
The program will support the implementation of the National Employment Policy and the strengthening of public employment services. It will also promote skills development, professional integration, the formalization of economic activities, and the gradual extension of social protection to workers in the informal economy as well as to people living in poverty or vulnerability.
These interventions aim to improve access to productive and decent jobs, strengthen the resilience of workers and their families to economic shocks, and support a transition to a more inclusive and sustainable economy.
Coordinated action in service of national priorities
The program illustrates the coordinated approach of the United Nations system in support of Guinea's development priorities. Alongside the ILO, UNDP, and the World Bank, several UN agencies, including IFAD, UNIDO, UNICEF, WFP, FAO, IOM, and WHO, will contribute their expertise to its implementation.
At the launch, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Guinea stressed that this initiative will strengthen synergies between national and international partners, promote integrated responses and help mobilize additional resources to support the reforms undertaken by the Government.
A lever for Guinea's economic transformation
For the Government, this partnership is in line with the national priorities championed by the President of the Republic, General Mamadi Doumbouya, and the Prime Minister Amadou Oury Bah, who have made decent employment and social protection pillars of the country's development.
The Minister of Employment, Labor, and Social Protection reiterated that the program will contribute to the implementation of the national vision, particularly through the Simandou 2040 Program, which aims to transform natural resources into sustainable, inclusive, and shared human development. He emphasized the need to ensure coherence between the actions of the Global Accelerator and the structuring projects of the national transformation plan.
The launch ceremony brought together representatives from public administrations, United Nations agencies, technical and financial partners, some workers' and employers' organizations, as well as civil society, illustrating the importance of social dialogue in the implementation of this initiative.
The next steps will include a national diagnostic workshop to analyze the challenges related to employment, social protection, and just transitions, followed by the development of a national roadmap. By strengthening the coordination of public policies and investments in employment and social protection, the program aims to make economic growth an engine for creating decent jobs, reducing inequalities, and fostering inclusive development in Guinea.
This was first published by the ILO.