The prime minister of Tuvalu is pleading for international help as the tiny island nation in the Pacific Ocean deals with a crippling drought.

Each household on the island is being forced to survive on just two buckets (40 litres) of fresh water a day.

The amount of clean water being produced for residents to drink has now doubled after New Zealand sent over a portable desalinisation unit.

Two years ago, the United Nations had set up a multi-billion dollar fund to help small countries deal with problems associated with climate change and rising sea levels. The Tuvaluan government is now trying to access these funds to help find a long-term solution to its current crisis.

So far there have been no outbreaks of disease, but the International Red Cross is concerned that situation may not last.

Weather forecasters are not predicting any rain until January.

Al Jazeera's Belinda Henley reports from Tuvalu.