Cape Town - One in every 31 children in South Africa will die before its fifth birthday, according to the Child Gauge Report released by the Children’s Institute at UCT.
Under the theme “Child and Adolescent Health: Leave no one behind”, the report is the 14th of its kind and aims to provide an overview of the state and circumstances of the South African child. It also functions as a clarion call to prioritise child and adolescent health by putting children at the heart of the health-care system.
The report revealed that South Africa has made progress in reducing under-five mortality and deaths due to HIV from 79 deaths per 1000 live births in 2004 to 32 deaths per 1000 in 2017.
Despite this, the report showed that most children are still dying from preventable causes such as neonatal conditions, HIV, diarrhoea, pneumonia and injuries. The report revealed an urgent need to address malnutrition, HIV, violence and mental health .
Lori Lake, a communications and education specialist at the Children’s Institute, said: “Nearly 60% of children still live below the poverty line, 30% do not have access to piped water on site, and 20% live in overcrowded households.”
Due to these challenges, families are not always able to meet the basic needs of their children.
First Lady Dr Tshepo Motsepe said in the forward of the report: “If we want to promote cognitive development, break the intergenerational cycles of poverty and violence and halt the growing epidemic of obesity and non-communicable diseases, we need to invest early - starting in the first 1000 days of a child’s life.”
First Lady Dr Tshepo Motsepe. Picture: GCIS
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said: “The last South African Child Gauge to focus on child health was published in 2009 - a decade ago. “This year’s Child Gauge again provides us with an opportunity to reflect on what has been achieved and what still needs to be done to ensure that children are indeed put first, and that they both survive and thrive.”
The report revealed that an estimated 15965 children died before their fifth
birthday in 2017/18, which is about 44 children a day.
“Reductions in child mortality during the past decade have primarily resulted from ensuring that all pregnant women and children have access to a well-defined package of maternal and child survival interventions that address these preventable causes,” Mkhize said.