The infant mortality rate in Gaza has risen for the first time in more than half a century, The Guardian cited a new study by the United Nations aid agency for Palestinian refugees says.

It said Israel’s blockade of the coastal strip, where close to 45% of the population is under the age of 14, could be a contributing.

“The number of babies dying before the age of one has consistently gone down over the last decades in Gaza, from 127 per 1,000 live births in 1960 to 20.2 in 2008. At the last count, in 2013, it had risen to 22.4 per 1,000 live births,” a statement from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency said.

“Every five years UNRWA conducts a survey of infant mortality across the region, and the 2013 results were released this week,” it said, adding that because of the data it would conduct a new Gaza-specific survey this year.

It said that neonatal mortality in Gaza, the number of babies who die before four weeks old, rose from 12 per 1,000 live births in 2008 to 20.3 in 2013.
The statement quoted Akihiro Seita, director of the agency’s health programme, as saying that the sudden upswing was unprecedented in the Middle East.

“When the 2013 results from Gaza were first uncovered, UNRWA was alarmed by the apparent increase. So we worked with independent research groups to examine the data, to ensure the increase could be confirmed,” he said.

“That is why it took us so long to release these latest figures.”