|© UNICEF OPT/2011/KS| |A nurse is conducting a post-natal home
visit in Gaza.| By Catherine Weibel GAZA, Occupied Palestinian
Territory, 1 June 2012 – Every year, an estimated 1,600 babies
die in the first four weeks of life in the Occupied Palestinian
Territory. Most of these newborns deaths could be prevented if
mothers and newborns’s health was systematically evaluated, and
if young mothers received advice on how to best care for their
children. To improve newborn survival, UNICEF has revitalized a
post-natal home-visit programme for new mothers and infants in
the Gaza Strip. Last year, nearly 5,000 home visits were
supported, reaching more than 3,000 high-risk pregnant women in
Gaza with technical and financial support from UNICEF. Problems
facing young mothers “The idea is to visit mothers during the
first crucial days of their babies’ lives, to provide a safety
net for mothers and newborns at risk,” said Sawsan Hamad, the
Director of the Mother's Health Department at the Gaza Ministry
of Health. Post-n