A report by the UN Population Fund estimates the population at 15.8 million. This high rate of population growth puts extra strain on food producing resources and social services. The south of the island is also severely affected by climatic conditions, drought and cyclone, which can cause famine. Targeting the South Most of these rural producers live in isolated communities where they have little access to information and are not able to prepare for periods of drought. With little infrastructure and no access to basic services of health and education, many children suffer from retarded growth and infant mortality runs at approximately 110 per thousand.
Most villages have no proper water supplies or sanitation.
Many families live two or three generations to a small wooden hut. There is little chance of any schooling for the children. Grain A serious consequence of this poverty is that in order to survive on the small income supplied by rice farming and fishing, most villagers are extremely dependent on the forests. These provide charcoal for fuel, and wood for housing and boats. To exacerbate the problem further, the forests are continually cut back to provide land for rice farming and the desperate circumstances of the people often leads to other short term agricultural solutions.