London - Childhood mortality in much of Iraq has doubled in the decade since the Gulf War and the introduction of UN sanctions, according to new research released today. Household surveys conducted in different areas of the country showed death rates increasing in the south and centre of Iraq but declining in the autonomous northern Kurdish region.
"Childhood mortality clearly increased after the Gulf conflict and under UN sanctions in the south/centre of Iraq, but in the autonomous region since the start of the Oil-for-Food Programme childhood mortality has begun to decline," a study published in the medical journal The Lancet said.