4S
Health Status
A.
Vital Events
1.
Data Problems
As is the case with most developing countries, adequatel# measuring in
a quantifiable manner the health status of the population is very difficult.
It is even more difficult here in that the entire country hasfonly 30,000 +
people thus the total number of vital events occurring in onelyear are few.
Therefore any errors in reporting, data handling, or interpretation cause
considerably more
populations.
change
in
the
rates
and percentages
than
For example, the missing of one or two atollB
in
larger
by a “field
ship" doing immunizations (or collecting statistics) can mean
Ehat an entire
cohort of children can be missed thus dramatically affecting
immunization
levels, not to mention birth and death statistics.
In the economic sector small changes can cause even greafer population
data changes.
It has been said for instance, that the “laying off" of one
Marshallese employee on
the Kwajalein Missile Range causeq
twenty plus
individuals to leave Ebeye (the adjacent Marshallese town) fdr their outer
island
home
atolls.
Rapid changes
in migration,
age/sex] composition,
geographical distribution, and total population per atoll ocdur frequently
as a result of minor governmental changes in hiring practiceq
and policies
(55-65% of the workforce in Ebeye or Majuro are employed by the government,
furthermore it is estimated that 50-60% of the available workforce in these
centers are not employed).
Consequently, any quantitative presentation of the situation must be
viewed with caution.
Nevertheless the data that is availabld@
an estimate of the current status.
does provide
Most of the data comes ffom either the
1973 census (the 1980 official census data wil] not be availaBle until mid1981) or an unofficial census in 1977, done by the Departmegt of Planning
and
Resource
Development.
monitors vital events
The
continuing
registration
(births, death, fetal deaths) and
[system
which
Health service
utilization statistics also provide data.
2.
Demography/Vital Events
The total] population in 1977 was estimated at 25,457 Tabfle 1 shows the
projected population by age categories for 1979, 1981, 1985,]1990, and the
year 2000.