Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi on Monday acknowledged that South Africa is lagging behind other African countries in stemming the deaths of mothers and babies.

He was speaking at the African Union summit in Kampala which has adopted infant and maternal health as its main official theme.

The summit was eclipsed by the suicide bombs that killed 76 in Kampala earlier this month. But Motsoaledi, who accompanied President Jacob Zuma, came prepared to speak on what is for South Africans a hot button item following the deaths in Johannesburg of six premature babies.

Motsoaledi cast no new light on this at the African Forum, However, he admitted that South Africa’s inability to curb the mortality of mothers and babies is deplorable.