Population, Health and Nutrition
 A nurse in Egypt vaccinates an infant. (Photo: Copyright
2007 Omar Mohsen, Courtesy of Photoshare)
MIDDLE EAST HEALTH PROGRAMS
Egypt, Jordan, West Bank/Gaza and Yemen
CONTACTS
Gary Cook
Senior Health Advisor
Tel: (202) 712-0707
Email: gcook@usaid.gov
Overview
In the Middle East and North Africa, one in 22 children dies before reaching age five, and the lifetime risk of maternal death is a staggering 1 in 140. Tuberculosis, HIV, and avian influenza (AI) are also of increasing concern in some countries in the region.
Programs
Keeping Mothers and their Children Healthy
A high percentage of women in the Middle East and North Africa are at risk of dying during pregnancy and childbirth. In response, USAID promotes internationally recognized approaches to delivery, antenatal, postnatal, and neonatal care, as well as health services. For example, USAID works to increase the percentage of deliveries attended by skilled birth attendants, saving mothers' lives. As a testament to USAID's robust assistance in Egypt's health sector over the past three decades, 50 percent fewer women die during pregnancy and 70 percent fewer infants die in the first year of life, compared with the 1970s.
About one in seven infants in the region suffers from low birth weight, which negatively impacts chances for survival and long-term health and development. USAID provides communities with the information, training, and supplies necessary to expand basic health services and extend best practices, such as exclusive breastfeeding. For example, USAID's community-based activities in the West Bank from 2006 to 2008 led to a 27 percent increase in maternal knowledge about healthy nutrition for children under five. USAID also helps save children's lives by educating communities about hygiene and promoting immunization. In Yemen, USAID has improved routine immunization surveillance systems to prevent diseases among children and women of reproductive age.
Saving Lives with Family Planning
Expanding family planning services is essential to meeting the continuing unmet need for delaying and spacing births in the Middle East. USAID's investment in innovative family planning programs has led to sustainable partnerships that leverage resources and increase access. For example, USAID's program in Jordan helped to improve acceptance of modern family planning methods. Approval of modern family planning methods has increased from 65 percent of respondents in 2002 to 75 percent in 2008 in Jordan.
Fighting Infectious Diseases
Expanding family planning services is essential to meeting the continuing unmet need for delaying and spacing births in the Middle East. USAID's investment in innovative family planning programs has led to sustainable partnerships that leverage resources and increase access. For example, USAID's program in Jordan helped to improve acceptance of modern family planning methods. Approval of modern family planning methods has increased from 65 percent of respondents in 2002 to 75 percent in 2008 in Jordan.
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