Overview
- The Department of Health confirmed 1,669 births in public health facilities on January 1, 2026, up from 1,448 on the same day in 2025.
- More than 160 of the New Year’s Day deliveries were to teenage mothers, roughly double the tally a year earlier, drawing urgent concern from officials.
- Gauteng recorded 396 births, KwaZulu-Natal 334, and Limpopo 234, while the Northern Cape had the fewest with 50.
- Officials urged collaboration across government, schools, parents and civil society, alongside confidential, youth‑friendly clinic services and stronger sexual and reproductive health education.
- Statistics South Africa reports nearly 124,000 births to mothers aged 19 and younger between January 2024 and February 2025, underscoring the broader scale of the issue.