A conference on awareness in the mass media of the problems of family planning was held in March 1989 at Bissau by the Guinean Association for Education and Promotion of Family Health (AGEPSF). Representatives of radio, a daily newspaper, and the national press agency discussed the objectives of AGEPSF and the benefits of family planning with specialists in different sectors of national life. The secretary general of AGEPSF affirmed the interest of the government in creating a health organization to coordinate national policy in family planning and to diffuse information on family planning. The family planning objective of the AGEPSF is not limitation of births but rather spacing to promote maternal and child health. AGEPSF is a member of the International Planned Parenthood Federation and maintains relations with similar organizations throughout the world. According to the director of the national maternity hospital, family planning is a sensitive topic but it has become accepted in numerous countries as marriage in rural areas and abortions in urban areas are widespread practices in Africa with potentially grave consequences. The general director of the National Institute for Studies and Research placed the theme of family planning in the context of Guinea-Bissau by citing the low level of education, the almost insignificant number of literate women, and the lack of health services in rural areas as the principal causes of increasing infant mortality in the country. African countries should create favorable conditions, elevate the level of living of their populations, and develop concrete health actions to reduce infant and maternal mortality.