A World Bank report on vulnerability in Pacific Island Countries (PICs) shows that 20% of households in the region live in hardship.
The authors of ‘Hardship and Vulnerability in the Pacific Island Countries' say that although hunger and extreme deprivation are low, many households are unable to meet their needs for fuel, medicines and other basic non-food items, and are vulnerable to economic and environmental shocks.
10 March 2014: A World Bank report on vulnerability in Pacific Island Countries (PICs) shows that 20% of households in the region live in hardship. The authors of ‘Hardship and Vulnerability in the Pacific Island Countries’ indicate that, although hunger and extreme deprivation are low, many households are unable to meet their needs for fuel, medicines and other basic non-food items, and are vulnerable to economic and environmental shocks.
The report shows that inequality levels in PICs are as high as in East Asia, that non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are increasing the vulnerability of PICs, and that domestic violence rates are high across the Pacific. The authors recommend that the region’s governments introduce social protection schemes and invest more in the prevention and management of long-term risks, such as natural disasters and the health risks posed by NCDs. They call for sustained data collection to inform poverty analyses.
The report draws on data from eight PICs: Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. The report is issued as a companion to the 2014 World Development Report on Risk and Opportunity. [Publication: Hardship and Vulnerability in the Pacific Island Countries] [World Bank Press Release] [Report Webpage]