KEY FACTS Joined Commonwealth: 1978 Population: 10,000 (2013) GDP p.c. growth: 1.7% p.a. 1990–2013 GNI p.c.: US$6,630 (2013) Life expectancy: 65 years (est 2012) Under-five mortality rate (per 1,000 live births): 29 (2013) Largest contribution to mortality: Cardiovascular diseases Government health expenditure: 15.4% of GDP (2012) General information Tuvalu, formerly the Ellice Islands, is a group of atolls lying south of the equator in the western Pacific Ocean, south of Kiribati and north of Fiji. Funafuti, the main island and capital, lies 1,046 km north of Suva, Fiji. The other islands are Nanumanga, Nanumea, Niulakita, Niutao, Nui, Nukufetau, Nukulaelae and Vaitupu. Climate: The mean annual temperature is 30°C, with little seasonal variation, though March–October tends to be cooler. 282 Commonwealth Health Partnerships 2015 Humidity is high. Trade winds blow from the east for much of the year. Although the islands are north of the recognised hurricane belt, severe cyclones struck in 1894, 1972 and 1990. Rainfall is high, averaging 3,535 mm p.a. The wettest season is November–February. Environment: There are no streams or rivers in the country and ground water is not safe to drink; water needs are met by catchment of rainwater and, increasingly, by desalination. The Japanese government has built one desalination plant in Tuvalu and plans to build another. Some 40 per cent of the island of Funafuti was severely damaged during World War II and is virtually uninhabitable. Other significant environmental issues are beachhead erosion due to the removal of sand for building materials; excessive clearance of forest undergrowth for use as fuel; damage to coral reefs from the spread of the Crown of Thorns starfish; and rising sea levels threatening the underground water table. Population: 10,000 (2013). The population density on inhabited islands is very high, especially on Funafuti; 58 per cent of people live in urban areas. The population growth rate stood at 0.4 per cent p.a. between 1990 and 2013. In 2012 the birth rate was estimated at 23 per 1,000 people and life expectancy was estimated at 65 years. In February 2000 a request was made to New Zealand for resettlement of about a third of Tuvalu’s population, which was threatened by rising sea levels. The Tuvaluans are a Polynesian people. Economy: Tuvalu is classified as an upper-middle-income economy by the World Bank. Health Child and maternal health: Infant mortality in Tuvalu was 24 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2013, with an under-five mortality rate of 29 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2013. There has been a consistent decline in the under-five mortality rate since 1990. Although this decline is encouraging, the under-five mortality rate is not yet in line with the country’s target of 19 deaths per 1,000 live births, as defined by Millennium Development Goal 4 (MDG 4). In 2010 the three most prominent known causes of death for children below the age of five years were injuries (23 per cent), prematurity (17 per cent) and congenital anomalies (16 per cent). Other contributory causes were birth asphyxia (ten per cent), pneumonia (nine per cent) and neonatal sepsis (six per cent). Burden of disease: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) accounted for an estimated 74 per cent of all mortality in Tuvalu in 2008. The most prevalent NCDs in Tuvalu are cardiovascular diseases, which accounted for 38 per cent of total deaths across all age groups in 2008. Cancer, non-communicable variants of Tuvalu
Commonwealth Health Partnerships 2015
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