Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2008. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
South African Press Association - April 16, 2008
'Countdown to 2015 MNCH: The 2008 Report' was published by the partnership for maternal, new-born and child health (MNCH), an umbrella organisation comprising about 240 members - such as Unicef, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Save the Children.
It assessed the world's progress in reaching Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Four and Five, aimed at reducing child death rates by two thirds, and maternal moralities by three quarters by 2015.
It showed South Africa's under-five child mortality rate was not reduced, but had risen between 1990 and 2006 from 60 to 69 deaths per 1000 live births.
With this, it put itself on a list of 15 countries such as Somalia, Sudan and Zimbabwe who had made no progress meeting the MDGs.
For South Africa to meet MDG Four, it would have to reduce its child mortality number to 20 per 1000 live births by 2015.
The main cause for under-five deaths was HIV and Aids, responsible for 57 percent of child deaths.
Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msiman earlier this week said reviewing the causes of infant deaths was the best way to identify weaknesses and gaps in government systems throughout Africa.
The minister said the impact of other health determinants like poverty, underdevelopment, lack of housing, water and sanitation continued to undermine the health of Africans.
In the report, the South African level of maternal mortality was rated as "high", with 400 deaths per 100 000 live births.
The biggest cause was haemorrhage, responsible for 34 percent of maternal deaths.
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