Neonatal mortality in South Africa : how are we doing and can we do better?

Abstract

Worldwide there has been a call for a two-thirds reduction in childhood mortality by 2015. Unfortunately, Millennium Development Goal 4 (MDG4) is unlikely to be reached in 2 years' time. Of the 130 million babies born every year, 4 million will die in the first 28 days of life, with the highest risk on the first day of life. The highest rates are in sub-Saharan Africa, where little progress has been made in the last 15 years towards reducing the number of deaths.