Health professionals have called on healthcare workers to protect the rights of refugees and migrants during the 30 June <a href="https://absafricatv.com/rising-tensions-south-africas-anti-immigrant-protests-law/" title="Rising Tensions: South Africa's Anti-Immigrant Protests | Law”>protests, saying no one should be denied medical treatment because of their documentation status
Professor Hassan Mahomed, an extraordinary professor in the Division of Health Systems and Public Health at Stellenbosch University, said healthcare workers had become increasingly concerned about developments in the country and the potential impact on the health system
He said violence and displacement linked to the 30 June protests could create wider public health risks beyond hospitals and clinics
“If violence occurs, it affects the health system. If people land up in the streets and are displaced, from a public health point of view, the basics like shelter, access to clean water, proper sanitation… are absolutely necessary.”
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Mahomed said that while health facilities routinely ask patients for documentation, it is not a requirement for receiving healthcare
“Everyone who lives in South Africa should have access to healthcare when they need it,” he said
He argued that limiting treatment to emergency care would ultimately increase costs because people denied earlier treatment would eventually require more expensive hospital care
“We should not be turning anyone away from our healthcare system.”
Mahomed added that managing migration was not the responsibility of healthcare workers
“Our responsibility is to provide healthcare, and whoever needs it should get it.”
Concerns over clinics
Mahomed said there was evidence that some healthcare workers had refused to treat undocumented migrants
He referred to findings from a report by Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), saying some healthcare workers had allegedly colluded with Operation Dudula at healthcare facilities
He said there was an interdict preventing Operation Dudula from demanding documentation at health facilities and warned that staff who assisted the group would be acting unlawfully
“They should definitely not be doing it.”
‘Not overwhelming the health system’
Addressing claims that migrants are placing excessive pressure on public healthcare, Mahomed rejected the suggestion
He said migrants make up less than 4% of South Africa’s population, and research indicates they use healthcare services at lower rates than South Africans on average
Mahomed said some migrants are reluctant to seek treatment because they fear being asked for documentation
“The impact is minimal, and they definitely should not be used as a reason or be scapegoated as a reason for why our health services are overwhelmed.”
He said the available research does not support claims that migrants and refugees are overwhelming South Africa’s healthcare system
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