Mapaballo Borotho
- Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has slammed the Department of Health for the blockage of non-South Africans in public health facilities.
- Vulnerable groups, including pregnant women, children, and chronic patients, are being turned away, sometimes with staff colluding.
- MSF is calling on the Health Department to take immediate action to ensure healthcare access for all.
Doctors Without Borders South Africa (MSF) has strongly criticised the National Department of Health for failing to act while certain groups continue to block non-South Africans from accessing public healthcare.
The organisation says the situation is alarming, as even the most vulnerable, including pregnant women, children, people living with HIV, and those with chronic illnesses, are being denied medical care.
In a statement, MSF called for urgent intervention from the National Department of Health (NDoH) and relevant provincial health departments to uphold the constitutional right to healthcare for all, as guaranteed by the National Health Act.
For weeks, anti-migrant groups have been camping outside multiple clinics and hospitals in Gauteng, preventing non-South Africans from entering regardless of their legal documentation status.
MSF launched its own investigation to assess the severity of the blockades and the needs of those affected. The team visited 15 healthcare facilities in the province and found that patients were being turned away from more than half of them.
The blockades were manned by groups of two to ten people in civilian clothing, stationed at gates or inside facilities, demanding identification from every patient and refusing entry to those they deemed “non-South African.”
“The results of our assessment are highly distressing and unacceptable,” said Claire Waterhouse, MSF Southern Africa’s Director of Operational Support Unit.
“We even witnessed two clinics where security staff and healthcare workers worked in collusion with these anti-migrant groups. We urge the Department of Health to immediately address healthcare facilities that are enabling or encouraging any kind of denial of healthcare.”
Meanwhile, two members of the Operation Dudula anti-migrant group based in Soweto were arrested earlier this week for disrupting services at the Lilian Ngoyi Clinic. They were later released on warning.
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