British Mandate: A Survey of Palestine: Volume II - Page 710

CHAPTER XVI.

175. No such development has taken place in neighbouring Arab countries. In Egypt, for which figures of child mortality are not available, infant mortality did not show during the last twenty years any clear tendency towards a decline. The official data for the whole country, as published, would show even an upward trend in infant mortality. The following are the rates of death at age 0-1 for 1000 births :-

1921-25

144

1926-30 152

1931-35

1936-39

1940-42

165

163

160

This trend is probably due to improvement in reporting rather than to worsening in the situation. However, data for localities with health bureaux in which the reporting is probably better (as given by Clyde V. Kiser) show that after a considerable improvement during 1906-21 the rates declined only very slightly during 1921-41 :-

1921-25

1926-30

1931-35

1936-39

1940-41

224

218

208

203

107

The percentage decrease was only 12% during 20 years, whilst the infant mortality rate of Moslems of Palestine declined during 20 years from 178 in 1924-25 to 112 in Hl43-44, i.e. by 37%. It may be noted that during the first years for which data are available the rate for Palestinian Moslems was slightly lower than the rate prevailing in Egypt. During the last fifteen years, however, the difference between the two populations has become very substantial (Palestine Moslem 1939-41: 135, Egypt 1940-41: 197).

Data for Trans-Jordan show also that infant mortality in that country is considerably higher than that of Moslems of Palestine. Thus, in 1935-37 the rate was 205 in Trans-Jordan and 157 in Moslem Palestine, and in 1938-40 it was 175 in Trans-Jordan and 133 in Moslem Palestine.

176. The decrease of infant and child mortality has been universal in Palestine; this indicates a tendency towards genera 1 improvement of standards of life.

177. Table 15 shows the infant mortality rates in 1940-44 a" compared with these in 1925-30 in towns, arranged according to the size of these rates in 1940-44. The percentage of decrease is also indicated.

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