Alarming rise in maternal deaths

2010-10-27 15:18

Cape Town - The number of women who die in South Africa during or shortly after pregnancy has shown an "alarming" upward trend, says the 2010 medium-term budget policy statement (MTBPS).

According to the document, tabled by Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan in Parliament on Wednesday, South Africa's maternal mortality rate rose from 369 deaths per 100 000 births in 2001, to 625 in 2007.

It notes that the country is "unlikely" to achieve its 2015 Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target of no more than 38 deaths per 100 000 births.

The MTBPS also notes a disturbing rise in under-5 infant mortality between 1999 and 2007, from 59 per 1 000 births to 104 over this period.

This means more than one in 10 South African infants are dying before their fifth birthday. The MDG target is no more than 20 deaths per 1 000 births.

The MTBPS says this target, too, is unlikely to be achieved.

The document says that while South Africa has seen improvements in ante-natal care coverage and use of modern contraceptive methods, "the country's maternal mortality is rising - an alarming trend".

It attributes this to "the prevalence of HIV, together with complications associated with hypertension and deficiencies in obstetric services".

On child mortality, it says South Africa's rates "are unacceptably high and far above comparable international norms".

The MTBPS figures come a week after the UN Population Fund's "State of World Population 2010" report found that the number of babies who die in the first year of life is lower in Botswana and Namibia than in South Africa.

The report showed the infant mortality rate in South Africa (for children under a year) was 43 in every 1 000 live births, compared to 32 in Botswana and 30 in Namibia.

- SAPA