Nigeria: Tensions rise over migrant access to healthcare in South Africa

By Zuleihat Owuiye, Mamos Nigeria

A growing humanitarian crisis is unfolding in parts of South Africa as some healthcare facilities turn away foreign nationals, including pregnant women and patients with serious chronic illnesses.

At several clinics in Gauteng, small groups of people have stationed themselves at entrances, demanding identification from patients and refusing entry to those they believe are not South African citizens. In some cases, these actions appear to be happening with the cooperation of security staff or even healthcare workers.

The impact has been severe. Pregnant women with high-risk conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, and HIV have gone without necessary monitoring and treatment. Some HIV-positive patients have missed medication for more than two weeks, putting both their own health and public health at risk. One expectant mother, just over four months pregnant, expressed despair at being unable to access care and said she wished she could end the pregnancy, though she feared the consequences.

Supporters of the restrictions argue that South Africa’s limited medical resources should be reserved for citizens, claiming that the healthcare system is already overburdened. They believe foreign nationals should only receive emergency care before being deported, and some allege that medicine is being taken out of the country for profit.

Health advocates, however, warn that denying care based on nationality fuels the spread of communicable diseases such as tuberculosis, HIV, and COVID-19—threats that do not stop at borders. Untreated illnesses, they say, could lead to outbreaks that further strain the already stretched healthcare system.

Government officials have reaffirmed that the constitutional right to healthcare applies to everyone, regardless of nationality or documentation. Police have stepped in to remove protesters from certain clinics and said they will respond to similar incidents wherever they are reported.

Behind the political arguments are human lives—people caught between legal disputes and the urgent need for treatment. For many, the question is not about policy, but about whether they will live long enough to see the debate resolved.