Maternal deaths in South Africa are 1.5 times higher than the United Nations target for 2030, and newborn deaths are rising, according to the latest District Health Barometer released in late April.
Uneven performance across the country
The report shows that 29 babies died in public hospitals every day in 2024, totaling 10,560 deaths. While the neonatal mortality rate stands at 13 per 1,000 births, close to the UN target of 12, this figure varies significantly by district.
Compare this with rates in some South American countries such as Brazil (67), Colombia (59) and Peru (51) in 2023, who’ve all been at or below the 70 mark for at least a decade. Even some southern African countries such as Zambia (85) and Mozambique (99) come in lower than South Africa, despite having at least seven times less to spend on healthcare.
Nationally, 13 out of every 1,000 newborns under one month old died in public health facilities in 2024. Only half of the country’s districts met the target of fewer than 12 deaths per 1,000 births. Similarly, only 29% of districts managed to keep maternal deaths below 70 per 100,000 live births. This rate is 1.5x higher than the UN target of 70 and has hovered around 105 per 100,000 since 2016.
Geography plays a major role in these outcomes. Districts like Zululand in KwaZulu-Natal and the Cape Winelands in the Western Cape have maternal mortality rates of 28.1 and 33.9, respectively. In contrast, the Capricorn district in Limpopo recorded 182.3 deaths per 100,000 births, while Lejweleputswa in the Free State reached 216.5.
What does the past predict about the future?
Over the past nine years, South Africa’s maternal mortality has been hovering in a fairly narrow band around 100 and 110 per 100,000 births. Newborn deaths show a worrying trend, too. Rates have idled between 12 and 13 per 1,000 live births since 2010, going up or down by a few tenths every year.
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