Child deaths in Iraq - Radio Islam

I have attached the abstracts of two articles that describe the situation of Iraqi children. The first report, printed in the Seattle Times but originating from the Washington Post, makes the situation seem quite pleasant, while the second report from the Financial Times of London makes the situation seem quite dire. A careful reading of the two articles will make clear that with respect to Iraq, they rely on the same data set. The difference is entirely spin. Take your choice.

James Joseph Sanchez, PhD

[abstracts]

(1) Chandrasekaran, Rajiv. "Fewer Kids in Iraq Are Malnourished; UN Report Contradicts Government's Line", in Seattle Times, November 22, 2002. pp. A1, A2. (Washington Post)

UNICEF has issued a report, based on data collected with the permission of the Iraqi government, that states the malnutrition rate among Iraqi children has fallen since 1996. UNICEF attributed the improvement to an exemption in sanctions that allows the Oil-for-Food program, which permits Iraqi to sell oil and purchase food, medicine and other humanitarian supplies. Carol de Rooy, director of UNICEF operations in Iraq, notes: "It is undeniable that the oil-for-food program has had a positive impact on the well-being of children in Iraq." According to UNICEF research conducted jointly with the Iraqi Ministry of Health, the number of children suffering from chronic malnutrition fell from 32% in 1996 to 23% in 2002; the number of underweight children fell from 23% to 9%. Iraq never agreed to release the study, so UNICEF decided to release the study without Iraqi permission. Iraq may have been concerned that the improved numbers would allay fears of a humanitarian disaster in Iraq. However, De Rooy noted that more than 1 million Iraqi children remain malnourished. The Iraqi government claims that 1.7 million Iraqi children have died from the embargo, but UN and Western health officials say that number is over-stated

(2) Williams, Frances. "UNICEF Study: Under-Five Mortality Reaches Level Typical of Least Developed Countries; Child Death Rate in Iraq Trebles", in Financial Times, December 12, 2002. p. 7.

The death rate among children under 5 in Iraq has reached 133 per 1000, compared with 50 in 1990. Only two countries outside Africa have rates worse than Iraq (Afghanistan and Cambodia). UNICEF data indicates that one-quarter oif babies born in Iraq between 1995-2000 are underweight, compared to 7% in Iran. Almost 1 million children in Iraq had moderate or severe stunting from malnutrition. The decline in child health in Iraq is the most severe in the world, but in several African countries (Botswana, Swaziland, Zimbabwe) the AIDS epidemic has also driven a rise in child mortality. Some poor countries (Egypt, Libya, Malaysia, Peru) have made progress in reducing child mortality but remain below the UN millennium goal of reducing child mortality by two-thirds in 1990-2015. UNICEF reports that many countries that have seen reductions in child mortality have seen a reduction in fertility.

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