The purpose of the Pan Arab Project for Child Development (PAPCHILD) survey program, conducted by the League of Arab States, was to collect information on reproductive and child health in the Arab states using retrospective, nationally representative, household sample surveys. The program was also intended to improve the capabilities of organizations dealing with population and family health and to increase awareness of issues related to child health and development. The program was supported by the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AGFUND), UNFPA, WHO, UNICEF, UNSTAT and the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF).
In the standard PAPCHILD survey, four questionnaires were included: a household questionnaire, which covered housing, family composition and other demographic topics; a women's questionnaire, covering contraceptive use and knowledge and birth histories; a children questionnaire covering accidents and illness and anthropometry; and a community questionnaire about health facilities, equipment and personnel. The questionnaire for children covered children under 5, and the questionnaire for women was administered to women of reproductive age, though the actual ages of women interviewed varied somewhat from country to country. In addition to reproductive health topics, the questionnaire for women also included a section on child deaths, where women were asked about the symptoms of the child before the child died. The Yemen survey was a combination of a PAPCHILD and a Demographic and Health Survey (DHS).
For most of the surveys, a summary report and a principal report were published. The principal reports include tabular data for most topics covered by the survey.
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