Western Cape Coalition Against Xenophobia
A 14-strong delegation from the Western Cape Coalition against Xenophobia (WCC-AX) met with the Provincial Department of Health on Wednesday 20th August to express concerns about access and treatment of foreign nationals in healthcare facilities in the Western Cape. WCC-AX acknowledged that South Africans also have problems in accessing quality healthcare and expressed solidarity with South Africans and foreign nationals alike.
WCC-AX put a series of proposed ‘solutions’ to the particular problems faced by foreign nationals, which the Department has agreed to consider and respond to. The Department agreed that discrimination in all forms is wrong and urged that any experiences of discrimination be reported. Meanwhile, there are hopes for collaboration between WCC-AX and the DOH on a public campaign to clarify the rights of refugees, migrants and asylum seekers.
WCC-AX presented a dossier of examples of problems experienced by foreign nationals, including:
- People being denied treatment
- People being wrongly charged as private patients
- People being bullied and humiliated because they are not South Africans
- People avoiding healthcare facilities from fear, risking their own health and the health of others.
Zamzam Hirsi of the Filanwaa Refugee Women’s Association and Flory Tshimbalanga Kabambi of Village of Hope spoke of the experiences that their community members have experienced.
As Zamzam said: “One of our members attended Groote Schuur Hospital seriously ill. She was asked to pay R18,000 to receive treatment, money she simply did not have. She remains at home in severe pain.”
The solutions that WCC-AX proposed include:
- Communication: the DOH was reminded that a 2023 court order mandated all health facilities in the country to prominently display posters stating that every pregnant or lactating mother and child under 6, irrespective of status, is entitled to free health care. WCC-AX expects to see posters in every facility within one month.
- Publicity: the Department of Health must issue a statement reaffirming the legal rights of all who live in South Africa to access healthcare.
- Training: all staff, including security and administrative staff, and clinic committees must receive urgent training in the law and the policy of the department.
- Access to healthcare: the DOH must strengthen the implementation and dissemination of its policy guaranteeing access to essential healthcare services,
including HIV and TB treatment, irrespective of immigration or documentation status.
- Language support: the DOH must ensure that all healthcare facilities have access to interpreters; refugee community networks are willing to assist with this.
- Rebuild trust: the DOH must take proactive measures to rebuild trust and confidence among refugee and asylum-seeking communities and ensure that fear does not become a barrier to accessing healthcare. There should be regular dialogue and partnerships between healthcare providers and refugee communities.
- Complaints: the DOH must ensure there is a functioning, user-friendly complaints system to resolve all complaints within 21 working days.
There was agreement that there will be a follow-up meeting. Meanwhile, WCC-AX will work with the Communications Department of the DOH to develop a publicity campaign to ensure that everybody in the province is aware of the rights of foreign nationals and the duties of the DOH to provide them with quality healthcare.
For more information:
Lorna Houston: 072 760 3650
Roger Etkind: 082 585 5385
