Lift up your voice! The drumbeat of Africa at the 7th International Neonatal Nurses Conference

Abstract

Each year, 21 300 babies die in the first month of life in South Africa and about the same number are still born.¹ South Africa has committed itself to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which include the call for a two-thirds reduction in child mortality (MDG 4). South Africa is currently one of only 12 countries worldwide whose child mortality is climbing, while countries with a similar gross national income such as Brazil and Egypt have halved their under-five mortality. To achieve MDG 4, South Africa needs an average reduction in U5MR of 14% per year.² As neonatal deaths account for 41% of child deaths, neonatal mortality must be reduced in order to reduce child deaths.¹