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Papua New Guinea: Years
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Papua New Guinea is one of, if not the most heterogeneous nations in the world. There are hundreds of ethnic groups indigenous to Papua New Guinea, the majority being from the group known as Papuans, whose ancestors arrived in the New Guinea region tens of thousands of years ago. The others are Austronesians, their ancestors having arrived in the region less than four thousand years ago. There are ... numerous people from other parts of the world now resident, including Chinese, Europeans, Australians, Filipinos, Polynesians and Micronesians.
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According to surveys over the last 15 years, the nutritional status of children under five years in Papua New Guinea has not improved (Smith, 1992; Gibson and Rozelle, 1998). In rural areas there is a high prevalence of underweight, a very high prevalence of stunting and a medium prevalence of wasting in children under five years (Monsef, 1998). The prevalence of underweight and wasting was highest among infants at one year, while stunting affected more than half of the children at four years. A sub-national survey carried out among children under five years reported a lower prevalence of underweight, stunting and wasting in urban areas. Children under five years living in the Highlands have a greater risk of stunting than their coastal counterparts. However, children living in the coastal regions are more likely to be wasted (Gibson and Rozelle, 1998).
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Papua New Guinea, a constitutional monarchy, recognizes the Queen of England as head of state. She is represented by a Governor General who is elected by parliament and who performs mainly ceremonial functions. Papua New Guinea has three levels of government--national, provincial, and local. There is a 109-member unicameral parliament, whose members are elected every 5 years. The parliament in turn elects the prime minister, who appoints his cabinet from members of his party or coalition.
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Data from different provinces of Papua New Guinea suggests that iodine deficiency disorders (IDD) are a national public health problem. In one district in Morobe, mild IDD was reported in children between 8 and 10 years in 1997. Earlier studies identified a much higher prevalence in several provinces and a vast gender difference in the prevalence of IDD, suggesting that women, especially pregnant and lactating, were twice as likely to suffer from iodine deficiency as men (Amoa et al., 1997).
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Papua New Guinea is richly endowed with natural resources, but exploitation has been hampered by rugged terrain and the high cost of developing infrastructure. Agriculture provides a subsistence livelihood for 85% of the population. Mineral deposits, including oil, copper, and gold, account for 72% of export earnings. The economy has faltered over the past three years but will probably improve slightly in 2003. Former Prime Minister Mekere MORAUTA had tried to restore integrity to state institutions, stabilize the kina, restore stability to the national budget, privatize public enterprises where appropriate, and ensure ongoing peace on Bougainville. The government has had considerable success in attracting international support, specifically gaining the backing of the IMF and the World Bank in securing development assistance loans.
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Arguably one of the most spectacularly beautiful countries on earth Papua New Guinea is situated to the near north of Australia and comprises the eastern half of the world’s largest island. Within is geographical boundaries lay several hundred offshore islands large and small, some with unique flora, fauna and many diverse primitive village cultures. Separated from The Indonesian state of West Papua, along the 141st meridian this young nation stretches into the Pacific Ocean and is bordered by the Coral Sea in the South and Micronesia to the North. Contained entirely within the hot tropics and surrounded by oceans, heavy rainfall and high temperatures throughout the year have combined to create one of the largest rainforest areas outside of the Amazon. Geologically it is relatively young and is undergoing continuous change as the earths movement and the many active volcanos sculpt the terrain with powerful tremors, ash and lava all along an east west, line of instability forming part of the “ring of fire” that reaches from Asia right across the Pacific Ocean.
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