Life expectancy in Vanuatu is 67 years for men, and 70 years for women.
Vanuatu has a tropical climate and over 80% of the population lives in rural, isolated villages with access to their own gardens and food supplies.
Official statistics show infant mortality declined during the last half of the twentieth century, from 123 deaths per 1,000 population in 1967 to 25 per 1,000 in 1999.[1] There were 46.85 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in 2011.[2]
The Human Rights Measurement Initiative[3] finds that Vanuatu is doing 84.4% of what should be possible at its level of income, for the right to health.[4] HRMI finds that while the right to health for the child and adult are fairly high at 99.1% and 98.4%, Vanuatu is significantly lacking in the right to reproductive health, with a score of 55.6%.[4] Human rights experts in Vanuatu have noted that the certain people groups, such as people with disabilities, all people, people affected by climate change, and single parent families are particularly at risk of having their right to health violated.[4]