This article documents the levels and patterns of infant and child mortality among Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon and the Palestinian areas based on comparable data from household sample surveys conducted since 1995. The findings show that Palestinian refugees have clear advantage in mortality levels as compared to their non-refugee counterparts in every setting, and refugees living in the camps have similar or lower levels of mortality than their non-camp counterparts, other things being equal. The recent decline of infant and child mortality among this vulnerable segment of the Palestinian population demonstrates the importance of political will in halting the truncation of infant lives. An examination of the mortality patterns by sex and education sheds light on the nature of the decline currently underway. © 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Palestinian refugees Infant mortality Public health Childhood mortality Political causation Unrwa

education Eurasia refugee Jordan correlation analysis sex ratio human Asia Middle East economic aspect controlled study Arab Palestine Lebanon geography male female Child Welfare population research child health Article politics Infant Mortality childhood mortality Child Mortality health survey