Supporting The Public Sector of Tuvalu

Education

There are seven years of compulsory education starting at the age of six. Primary school comprises seven years and secondary six, with cycles of four and two years. There are ten state primary schools, two on the island of Vaitupu and one on each of the other eight inhabited islands. There is one state secondary boarding school on Vaitupu, with about 600 students, and one private secondary school run by the Congregational Christian Church of Tuvalu. The Maritime Training Institute on Funafuti (founded in 1979) provides vocational and technical training for those seeking employment on ships and fishing boats and in-service training for serving seamen. The Technical Education Centre offers training in building trades. Tuvalu is a partner in the regional University of the South Pacific, which has its main campus in Suva, Fiji, and a campus on Funafuti.

Health

Public spending on health was ten per cent of GDP in 2010. There is a hospital on Funafuti and dispensaries on all the permanently inhabited islands. Health is generally good; there are occasional outbreaks of mosquito-borne dengue fever but no malaria. Almost all (98 per cent) people use an improved drinking water source and

85 per cent of people have access to adequate sanitation facilities (2010). Infant mortality was 25 per 1,000 live births in 2011.

Legislation in Tuvalu prevents the operation of private medical practices and pharmacies and all facilities available on the islands are public, with 99 per cent of total health funding being provided by the government.

Transport

Tuvalu has only a few roads (total extent 8 km) and, before 2002 when tarring was completed, these were made from compacted coral and supplemented by dirt tracks. There is a deep-water lagoon at Funafuti, which ships are able to enter at Nukufetau. The islands are served by a passenger and cargo vessel, based at Funafuti, which occasionally calls at Suva, Fiji. Ships from Fiji, Australia and New Zealand call at Funafuti. The only airfield is on Funafuti, at the eastern tip of the island. In 1992 a new runway was completed with Commonwealth technical assistance and international funding, replacing the old grass airstrip. There are scheduled flights from Majuro in the Marshall Islands, Tarawa in Kiribati, and Nadi and Suva in Fiji.

In a statement made in Jakarta in 2010 Tuvalu’s Minister of Communications, Transport and Tourism stated that the ‘provision of infrastructures for water and food security, waste management, energy, communications, and particularly air and sea transportation is crucial’. Due to the country’s negligible private sector, a lack of an enabling environment for international financial investments and little access to financial resources, the government will have to cover the costs of such developments. 85 per cent of people have access to adequate sanitation facilities (2010). Infant mortality was 25 per 1,000 live births in 2011.

Legislation in Tuvalu prevents the operation of private medical practices and pharmacies and all facilities available on the islands are public, with 99 per cent of total health funding being provided by the government.

Transport

Tuvalu has only a few roads (total extent 8 km) and, before 2002 when tarring was completed, these were made from compacted coral and supplemented by dirt tracks. There is a deep-water lagoon at Funafuti, which ships are able to enter at Nukufetau. The islands are served by a passenger and cargo vessel, based at Funafuti, which occasionally calls at Suva, Fiji. Ships from Fiji, Australia and New Zealand call at Funafuti. The only airfield is on Funafuti, at the eastern tip of the island. In 1992 a new runway was completed with Commonwealth technical assistance and international funding, replacing the old grass airstrip. There are scheduled flights from Majuro in the Marshall Islands, Tarawa in Kiribati, and Nadi and Suva in Fiji.

In a statement made in Jakarta in 2010 Tuvalu’s Minister of Communications, Transport and Tourism stated that the ‘provision of infrastructures for water and food security, waste management, energy, communications, and particularly air and sea transportation is crucial’. Due to the country’s negligible private sector, a lack of an enabling environment for international financial investments and little access to financial resources, the government will have to cover the costs of such developments.