Africa: For Migrant Women, The Right to Healthcare Does Not Always Mean Access

What the report says

AllAfrica reports from Mombasa, Kenya, that migrant and refugee women in South Africa often face a gap between legal rights to healthcare and what happens in practice. The article says the issue has become visible over the past year through repeated reports of migrants, asylum seekers and undocumented people being blocked or discouraged from accessing essential services, including maternal and child healthcare.

The story centers on human rights activist Tsakani Mabasa, whose research focuses on barriers to sexual and reproductive health services. She argues that pregnant women, survivors of gender-based violence and others seeking care may avoid clinics because they fear being asked for documentation or treated with hostility. The article also cites an especially serious case in which a Malawian woman gave birth in a deportation holding area without a medical professional present.

AllAfrica notes that South African law includes protections under the Constitution, the National Health Act and the Refugees Act, and that courts have intervened in some cases. In December 2025, a Gauteng High Court order required unhindered access to clinics in Johannesburg for people without South African identity documents after vigilante blockades. In March 2026, advocacy groups returned to court after monitoring suggested the problem continued around one clinic, leading to a settlement on safer access.

The article says the broader significance is that legal guarantees do not always translate into equitable care on the ground. It adds context from research and civil society groups pointing to discrimination, language barriers, expired documents and a strained health system as factors affecting access for migrant women.