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.