The risky lives of South Africa’s children: Why so many die or are traumatised

Abstract

Of the 18.5 million children under the age of 18 in South Africa, 8% have no fathers, 23% do not live with their biological parents, and 60% live in poverty – frightening figures that top local epidemiologists and clinicians agree help explain why the risk of a child dying here is ten times higher than in Europe.