Kopanang Africa: Migrants are not the cause of South Africa's healthcare crisis
Image: Leon Lestrade/Independent Newspapers
Anti-xenophobia movement, Kopanang Africa, says the violent skirmishes witnessed outside numerous healthcare facilities in South Africa are an attempt to divert attention to hijack legitimate frustrations among communities including high unemployment and poor service delivery.
'We view the violent exclusion of foreign nationals from healthcare facilities as a grave violation of South Africa's constitutional and human rights framework.
Operation Dudula's vigilante actions — blocking access to clinics, demanding identity documents, and intimidating patients — directly contravene Section 27 of the Constitution, which guarantees healthcare access to everyone within our borders, irrespective of nationality,' Mike Ndlovu, spokesperson Kopanang Africa Against Xenophobia (Kopanang Africa also known as KAAX) told IOL.
KAAX is a South African civil society collective committed to fighting xenophobia and promoting social justice.
'Recent incidents include forced denials of care to pregnant women, chronic patients, and children in Johannesburg clinics, coupled with psychological warfare through deportation threats. They also violate International human rights law, including the African Charter and ICCPR (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights), which prohibit discrimination based on nationality,' said Ndlovu.
IOL asked Ndlovu to clarify his organisation's sentiments, given the context of clinics and hospitals struggling to cater to the massive crowds requiring assistance. The influx of foreign nationals into South Africa is often blamed for the bulging crowds of patients at healthcare facilities.
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Kopanang Africa said migrants are being used as a scapegoat in the healthcare crisis.
Image: Kopanang Africa website
Ndlovu responded: 'These vigilantes exploit legitimate public frustration like a 32% unemployment rate, over-strained services, and their narrative dangerously distorts reality. Data reveals that foreign nationals constitute only four percent of public hospital admissions according to 2029 data, primarily for obstetric and emergency care, not the exaggerated burden claimed by anti-migrant groups.
'Migrants contribute nine percent to GDP (gross domestic product) despite being 6.7 percent of the population, countering the 'job theft' myth. The real systemic threats include a R50 billion shortfall in public health funding, 45,000 nurse vacancies, and rampant corruption, for example, Gauteng Health's R1.2 billion loss to irregular contracts in 2022–2023,' he said.
Furthermore, Ndlovu pointed out that the 2025 PEPFAR funding cuts on the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief funding cuts have slashed 17% of South Africa's HIV budget, causing over 8,000 healthcare worker retrenchments and clinic closures—crises unrelated to migration.
'Blaming migrants diverts attention from decades of state neglect and global aid failures,' he said.
Commenting on the declining relations between sections of the South Africa community and migrants who have flooded into the country, owing to its buoyant economy and opportunities, Ndlovu said the reasons for the meltdown are diverse.
'South Africa's xenophobic violence stems from unhealed colonial fractures. KAAX advances reconciliation through legal and grassroots strategies. We are challenging Section 41 of the Immigration Act, which enables warrantless searches and racial profiling of migrants, perpetuating the toxic conflation of nationality with criminality,' said Ndlovu.
'Concurrently, we support economic solidarity. Migrant-owned businesses employ two South Africans per enterprise on average, creating interdependencies that defy xenophobic tropes . We demand implementation of the dormant 2019 National Action Plan to Combat Xenophobia — a policy ignored by the state.'
Asked about the South African government's response to the skirmishes, Ndlovu said more could have been done by the authorities.
'We condemn the South African government's response to healthcare xenophobia as legally contradictory, operationally inadequate, and institutionally complicit. The government's statement verbally condemned vigilante blockades and affirmed healthcare rights under Section 27 of the Constitution; this response came only after weeks of unchecked violence and failed to address the core problem,' said Ndlovu.
'Operationally, despite promising police interventions and 'zero tolerance' for lawlessness , no arrests of Operation Dudula leaders have been documented since the statement's release.'
He argued that the government's inaction reflects state complicity.
'Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber's "Operation New Broom" focuses exclusively on migrant arrests. KAAX concludes the government's response is a performative gesture that perpetuates apartheid-era exclusion by scapegoating migrants for systemic crises instead of prosecuting vigilantes and corrupt officials,' said Ndlovu.
Dr Leon Schreiber, South Africa's Minister of Home Affairs
Image: Ayanda Ndamane Independent Newspapers
Last month, the government issued a statement, saying it has "noted with serious concern" the reported incidents where certain groups and communities have blocked foreign nationals from accessing healthcare services at public facilities.
"While the government understands the genuine frustrations of many citizens regarding the pressures on public services, including overburdened clinics and exhausted healthcare workers, members of the public are urged to raise such concerns through lawful and appropriate channels. Taking the law into one's own hands is unacceptable and undermines the values enshrined in our democratic Constitution," said Nomonde Mnukwa, acting government spokesperson.
"Such actions stand in direct violation of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, which affirms the foundational values of human dignity, equality, and the advancement of human rights and freedoms. Section 27(1) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, clearly provides that: 'Everyone has the right to have access to healthcare services'. This right is not subject to an individual's nationality or immigration status."
She said denying individuals healthcare based on their origin is a violation of South Africa's laws and values as a nation.
Additionally, Mnukwa said South Africa is a signatory to several regional and international agreements that aim to ensure access to healthcare for its citizens and, in some cases, for individuals within its borders.
jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za
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