Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has raised alarm over what it describes as growing and strategic xenophobic blockages preventing both South Africans and foreign nationals from accessing healthcare services.

Communication Specialist for MSF, Jane Rabothata, said their recent assessment revealed that more than half of the 15 health facilities visited in and around Johannesburg were blocking people from receiving medical attention.

“In addition to visiting the 15 facilities, we also called about 50 patients and visited some at home. They confirmed that they had been turned away from 24 different facilities between Johannesburg, Durban, and Tshwane,” Rabothata said in an interview on News Central monitored by JoyNews Mahmud Mohammed-Nurudeen.

She explained that the visits took place during the week of 28th July. Unlike earlier protests where incidents were public and shared on social media, the current situation is “ongoing but in a very strategic and subtle way,” with two to ten people stationed at clinics to block those they suspect are not South African.

“At one facility, a mother with two children came for vaccinations. We also met a Congolese man married to a South African woman who was turned away while trying to check on his wife during antenatal care. Earlier in the day, he had entered with her, but when he returned later, he was refused entry after they discovered he was not South African,” she said.

In some places, MSF found empty queues, not because there were no patients, but because people had already been blocked early in the morning. Even South Africans without ID cards were being refused entry.

Rabothata said the situation has left many patients afraid to seek care. “We spoke to pregnant women worried about complications. One woman, five months pregnant, said her blood pressure was high and she needed hospital care, but was turned away. She was even considering terminating the pregnancy out of fear for her life.”

She added that some people living with HIV feared running out of ARVs. “One lady told me her medication will last until 19th August, but she is afraid to go for a refill because she sees people being turned away. She said, ‘It would be traumatic for me to even go there only to be subjected to what I see other people going through.’”

Patients with diabetes, hypertension, and other chronic illnesses were also being refused care.

Rabothata warned that the problem might be far bigger than what MSF documented. “What we found as MSF is a drop in the ocean. We spoke to 50 patients and visited 15 facilities, but that doesn’t mean this is the full picture. It may be even bigger if authorities keep turning a blind eye.”

She stressed that the problem affects everyone, not only undocumented migrants. “Even South Africans are turned away if they don’t have an ID. The anti-migrant groups are determined to block anyone they believe is not South African, and that’s why we are equally concerned for all patients.”

MSF is calling on the National Department of Health to urgently address the crisis. “The Constitution guarantees that everyone has the right to free medical care when needed. We need education for communities, and the deep-rooted problems in the public health system must be fixed in a lasting way.”

Rabothata emphasised that condemnation alone is not enough. “We need real action so that everyone, South Africans and non-South Africans, can access healthcare without fear.”

She warned against anti-migrant groups taking the law into their own hands. “Nobody should have the right to stop anyone from accessing free health services. Migration issues should be handled by the right authorities, not by individuals blocking clinics.”