Social and Climate Change Migration Policy: Government of Tuvalu (South Pacific)

Details

Capability: Community Engagement and Health Education

Subcapability: Community Engagement

Project Timeline: 6/1/16 through 2/20/18

Sequoia Foundation principal developed the first national Social and Climate Change Migration Policy, under the guidance of the Prime Minister of Tuvalu, Enele Sopoaga, for one of the most isolated island nations in the world, and the one at greatest jeopardy of compelled climate-related abandonment.  Tuvalu, population 10,000, at an average elevation of 1.8 m, will be the first nation to be physically and permanently lost to climate change.  The assessment involved extensive interviews and data collection with elected leaders, medical and public health personnel, government staff, school management and teachers, small business owners, and a range of NGO representatives present on the island nation.  Central to the assessment were issues of public health, in a country with one of the highest concentrations of obesity, diabetes, and related co-morbidities in the world; and how best to initiate behavioral changes, child-rearing, and other cultural changes in anticipation of an inevitable evacuation.