Papua New Guinea

Although one of the fastest-growing developing countries in the southwest Pacific, with a total population of 6.25 million and an annual growth rate of 2.7 percent, Papua New Guinea (PNG) has one of the highest infant mortality rates, at 64 percent, due to the poor health of women and an inadequate healthcare system. Approximately 70 percent of the population are children. The vast majority of PNG's population live in rural areas, and 87 percent of the land remains in “customary” land tenure. However, an increasing number of people are migrating to urban areas due to the deterioration of essential services. Migration is causing an expansion of unplanned settlements with inadequate services and a dependency on cash income to meet basic household needs; many young women ...