One baby dies every 1 hour in South Africa - Save the Children SA

One baby dies nearly every hour in South Africa because the country does not have enough skilled health-care workers.

According to a hard-hitting report released on Tuesday, 7 500 babies who are born alive die on their first day - that’s 21 babies every day or almost one an hour.

In addition, 3 000 mothers around the country die every year due to complications during pregnancy or childbirth.

These shocking statistics were revealed at the launch of Save the Children SA - the new and independent arm of the world’s largest children’s rights organisation.

The organisation also released the 2013 State of the World’s Mothers report, which ranks every country based on analyses of the health, education and economic status of mothers and wellbeing of children to determine the best and worst places in the world to be a mother.

Finland, Sweden and Norway made the top rankings while the Democratic Republic of Congo was ranked bottom of the pile at 176.