ActionSA will write to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) to investigate the circumstances that led to newborn babies at Mahikeng Provincial Hospital in the North-West being placed in cardboard boxes instead of incubators or cribs.

Placing newborn babies in cardboard boxes goes against the bill of rights in the South African constitution which declares that every single South African has the right to quality healthcare and basic human dignity. 

If the incident wasn’t exposed through social media, more babies could’ve been placed in these carboard boxes which could’ve compromised their healthcare and possibly placed their lives at risk. 

ActionSA believes that the placing of babies in cardboard boxes again highlights the continued decay in healthcare in the North-West province. Urgent interventions need to be made to turn the situation around. 

The South African Human Rights Commission, as an independent statutory body defined in the South African constitution, should urgently investigate the matter to ensure that it does not take place again. 

It simply cannot be that when healthcare is the largest budgetary item in the North-West of over R15 billion, resources are not available to provide cribs and incubators to newborn babies.

ActionSA, a party committed to quality healthcare, will maintain pressure on the provincial government to ensure that action is taken against the individuals who led to this incident occurring. The people of the North-West deserves better.

Submitted by Kwena Mangope, ActionSA North-West Provincial Chairperson