World Health Organization publishes indictment of apartheid

Updated: 30 Sep 2019

The system of Apartheid was not only detrimental to the cultural, economic and emotional wellbeing of those on whom it was imposed , but also on the physical wellbeing of those who bore the brunt of it. This was shown by a study done by the World Health Organization in 1975. The report published on the 5th of March 1975 showed that Apartheid as a system through impoverishing its subjects, exposed many to physical ailments and deficiencies that could be avoided at minimal cost. This degradation was so extreme that there was a marked difference between the life expectancy of White South Africans and Black South Africans. Further, the infant mortality rate of Black South Africans outstripped the mortality rate of White South Africans. This was one of the many contradictions of the Apartheid system that eventually led to its fall.

How we know this

01Coppelman A. A Journey Through Apartheid in Nelson Mandela’s South Africa from Slate [online] Available at: www.slate.com [Accessed on 13 March 2014]
02UMKC The Indictment from UMKC [online] Available at: https://law2.umkc.edu [Accessed on 13 march 2014]

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2011, March 16). World Health Organization publishes indictment of apartheid. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012223

South African History Online (2011) 'World Health Organization publishes indictment of apartheid', South African History Online, 16 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012223 (Accessed: 7 October 2026).

South African History Online, World Health Organization publishes indictment of apartheid [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012223, (accessed 7 October 2026).

"World Health Organization publishes indictment of apartheid." South African History Online, 16 Mar. 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012223. Accessed 7 Oct. 2026.

South African History Online. "World Health Organization publishes indictment of apartheid." South African History Online. March 16, 2011. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0012223.