The Africa Diaspora Forum wants refugees and asylum seekers to receive free health care in South Africa’s public health institutions.
This emerged during a discussion on Wednesday in Johannesburg organised by the Human Rights Commission under the theme “Access to Health Care for Migrants in South Africa”.
Due to political instability and serious economic challenges in most African states – many migrants flock to South Africa in search of opportunities and a better life. However, some migrants claim they are discriminated against when visiting health facilities.
Chairperson of the Africa Diaspora Forum Marc Gbaffou says this should stop.
“On many hospitals, migrants are being confronted to that. When you cannot show a ID document they say go and get your document; and home affairs told us that they will only give papers to only 4% of people – meaning that 96% of people are undocumented. That’s why we are not comfortable when people talk about illegal immigrants,” Gbaffou explained.
