Striking racial inequities in health persist in South Africa

In 1994, when 350 years of colonialism and apartheid in South Africa came to an end and more than 300 racist laws were repealed, many people expected to see a significant decline in racial inequalities in the country’s health.Thirty years later, however, striking inequities in health persist between racial groups,1 even after accounting for socioeconomic indicators. For example, in 1998 the infant mortality rate in the Black population was six times as high as in the White population and remained three to four times as high when adjusting for income, education, and living conditions.2 This barely improved over the next 13 years: census data from 2011 show that, when compared with White people, infant mortality was 4.6 times as high in Black people, 2.4 times as high in people of mixed ethnicity, and 20% higher in people of Indian heritage.3Why do these health inequities persist in South Africa and around…
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