title: Low infant mortality among Palestine refugees despite the odds.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To present data from a 2008 infant mortality survey conducted in Jordan, Lebanon, the Syrian Arab Republic, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank and analyse infant mortality trends among Palestine refugees in 1995-2005.
  
  
  METHODS
  Following the preceding birth technique, mothers who were registering a new birth were asked if the preceding child was alive or dead, the day the child was born and the date of birth of the neonate whose birth was being registered. From this information, neonatal, infant and early child mortality rates were estimated. The age at death for early child mortality was determined by the mean interval between successive births and the mean age of neonates at registration.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In 2005-2006, infant mortality among Palestine refugees ranged from 28 deaths per 100 000 live births in the Syrian Arab Republic to 19 in Lebanon. Thus, infant mortality in Palestine refugees is among the lowest in the Near East. However, infant mortality has stopped decreasing in recent years, although it remains at a level compatible with the attainment of Millennium Development Goal 4.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Largely owing to the primary health care provided by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine Refugees in the Near East and other entities, infant mortality among Palestine refugees had consistently decreased. However, it is no longer dropping. Measures to address the most likely reasons - early marriage and childbearing, poor socioeconomic conditions and limited access to good perinatal care - are needed.
authors.affiliation: United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, Health Department Headquarters, Bayader Wadi Seer, PO Box 140157, Amman, Jordan. flaviariccardo@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Flavia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Riccardo
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Khader
authors.forename: Guido
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sabatinelli
mesh_terms: D018912:Arabs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002423:Cause of Death / Q000639:trends; D002648:Child; D046688:Child Mortality / Q000639:trends*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007226:Infant Mortality / Q000639:trends*; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007557:Israel; D007597:Jordan; D007861:Lebanon; D008297:Male; D008428:Maternal Mortality / Q000639:trends; D011247:Pregnancy; D012036:Refugees / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012307:Risk Factors; D013593:Syria