Tuvalu

Tuvalu is a island nation in the Pacific Ocean, midway between Hawaii and Australia. It is comprised of five atolls and four reef islands, with a total land mass of 26 kilometers (10 miles). Home to less than 12,000 people, Tuvalu is the second-least populated country in the world, next to Vatican City. With its highest point just 5 meters (16 feet) above sea level, Tuvalu is also at risk from rising sea levels. The islands have little clean drinking water, poor soil for agriculture, no natural resources to exploit, and no base for tourism. Most of the paying jobs are in the government sector and the government is heavily reliant on foreign aid. However, Tuvaluans have learned to make use of a thoroughly modern resource: in 1998, the country began selling access to its area code for popular “900” numbers and in 2000 leased its internet domain name “.tv” for $50 million in royalties. The population is 12,000 and growing at 1.543 percent annually. The birth rate is 22.43 per 1,000 and the death rate is seven per 1,000. Median age is 24.9 years. Life expectancy is 66.38 years for males and 70.99 years for females. This is a subsistence economy, based primarily on fishing and farming. Most money that flows into the country comes from Tuvaluans living abroad.

With a favorable climate, good sanitation and relatively clean water, not to mention geographical isolation, Tuvalu is free of many of the communicable diseases that affect other developing nations. The World Health Organization notes that the islands do have an “alarmingly high” rate of skin infections, acute respiratory illnesses, and eye infections. There is some malaria and filariasis. Like many of the Pacific Islands, AIDS has not emerged as a health problem, although tuberculosis cases are on the rise.

Septic wounds or sores are the leading cause of morbidity, followed by influenza, acute respiratory infections, headaches and coughs. The Ministry of Health lists heart disease as the leading cause of mortality, followed by “senility,” undiagnosed causes, diabetes, and hypoglycemia. The average diet is quite poor. Diabetes affects about 9 percent of the total population.

Child mortality is low, with 31 infants and 38 children between the ages of 1 to 5 dying per 1,000. The total fertility rate for women is 2.96 children each, with 32 percent of women using contraception. All births on the islands take place in hospital, and Tuvalu has had no reported maternal deaths in recent years.

The Ministry of Health oversees a small medical community of four doctors, two dentists, 30 nurses, 10 midwives, and 42 auxiliary staff. There is one main hospital in Funafuti, with smaller outposts in other communities. Complex cases are usually taken off the islands to Australia or New Zealand.