INFANT MORTALITY IN EGYPT

Evening Star, Issue 14186, 11 October 1909, Page 6

INFANT MORTALITY IN EGYPT

TERRIBLE WASTE OF HUMAN LIFE.

One of the most distressing features of 'the native life in Egypt, says the Cairo (correspondent of the ‘ Pall Mall Gazette,’ lis the groat infant mortality. Recent (statistics show that during the decade 1899-1908 there were 621,596 natives bom (in Egypt. Of that number 176,301, or 28.3 per cent., never survived the first -anniversary of their birth, and in the (eight years from 1901 to 1908 119,907 Ichildren died under ten years of ago. ‘With regard to foreigners, tlie toll is just las heavy. In the decade there were 11,490 births and 4,645 deaths under one year, and between 1901 to 1908 2,783 children under ten years of age succumbed. It sickens one to contemplate these appalling figures, which demonstrate such a terrible waste of human life.

So serious has this feature become that the Alexandria Municipality recently commissioned Dr' Carpenter to investigate the subject in that town, and his report has now been issued. The result confirms the official statistics; in fact, by comparison it shows how serious is the need of repairing this evil. Dr Carpenter compares the infant mortality in Alexandria in 1907 with that of other countries, and one is horrified to find that its record—3l.9 par cent.—is beaten, by only one other State, namely, Chili, with 32.6 per cent. As a matter of fact, if the report had only taken Cairo into consideration, it would have found that the capital came an even closer second with 32.3 per cent. Egypt had a total infant mortality pate of 30.9 per cent., and the nearest foreign State is Russia, with 26.8 per cent. These data are, of coarse, for deaths below one year, compared with the births in that period. The gravity of the situation can be ganged from the fact that the worst manufacturing town in England—Preston—had an infant mortality rats of only 24.4 per cent.

Death is mostly duo to intestinal taxmblo, bronchitis, pneumonia, and premature birth. Quito 85 per cent, are from these causes. Dr Carpenter considers that this is contributed to by lack of attention before birth, by poverty, and by want of instruction in bringing up children according to hygienic laws.

Dr Carpenter makes many valuable suggestions for overcoming this sad condition of things. IT© recommends the institution of lady health visitors os in England a stricter control of midwives, and the establishment of milk depots and maternity homes. Better for the notification of births obtain bore than at home, andthe co-operation of health and registration officers which exists out. here, owing to their being directly under one bead, will go a long way towards ensuring the success of the proposed reforms.