Review of Potential Interventions to Reduce Child Mortality

Child health in Iraq has suffered over two turbulent decades. Compared to other countries in the region, the status of child health in Iraq was reasonably good in the 1970s and 1980s. By the time of the Gulf War of 1991, however, there was a dramatic decline in child health, including a precipitous rise in infant and childhood mortality rates, an increase in levels of malnutrition, and a decrease in the provision and appropriateness of care for common childhood diseases. Four years after the initiation of the Oil for Food Program in 1997, improvements occurred, but child health in the country was still far worse than it had been in 1990. An anticipated humanitarian crisis did not arise following the 2003 war, but substantial disruptions to an already fragile health system ensued. Preventive and primary health care services are limited in both access and quality. An historic opportunity now exists to make rapid, measurable progress in child health. This report identifies programmatic interventions that can reduce infant and childhood mortality rates up to 50 % within 12–18 months. These include: • aggressive promotion of exclusive breastfeeding for the first 4-6 months of life • improved care of the newborn at the time of delivery, including resuscitation