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.