Just over half the population live below the poverty line with 82 percent of the poor living in the rural areas. Agriculture, fishing, mining and tourism and services are the main contributors to GDP.

According to the World Health Organization, The Poverty Strategic Plans has contributed substantially to poverty reduction but the level of access to basic social services remains low.

Since the signing of peace agreement in 1992 the country has enjoyed peace and stability backed by a democratic elections every five years. It’s prone to various natural disasters including epidemics, floods, storms and droughts.

Health challenges

Major challenges still facing the country according to the World Health Organization include:

• Communicable diseases still represent the major public health problems leading to high morbidity and mortality rates among the population, particularly among children under 5 years old
• Natural disasters often faced by the country turn the population vulnerable to water borne and drought related disease outbreaks such as cholera, dysentery, and meningococcal meningitis.
• AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, respiratory infections, diarrhoea and meningitis are the major causes of morbidity and mortality.
• The proportion of one year old children fully immunised against the six main preventable diseases (tuberculosis, polio, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus and measles) has increased from 47percent in 1997 to 63 percent in 2003.