By Health Correspondent
The international non state actor, Doctors Without Borders, MSF, has called for resolve in the continued xenophobic attacks on foreigners in South Africa and implementation of human right guarantee’s in accessing key services.
“Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is deeply concerned by the persistentand systematc
physical blocking of non-South Africans from accessing healthcare, including pregnant women, people living with HIV, chronic patentsand children -partcularly in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.” A statement issued by the MSF Southern African Regional Communication Specialist further emphasised.
Furthermore, “We call for immediate acton by the Natonal Department of Health (NDoH)
and relevant Provincial Departments of Health to guarantee the right of access to healthcare for all, as enshrined in the country’s Constitution and the National Health Act.”
The statement follows a research by MSF which unearthed that, a lot of potential patients continued to be turned down from accessing healthcare services leaving them vulnerable owing to lack of registration documents.
“The team visited 15 hospitals and clinics in Gauteng, where they consistently
witnessed patients being turned away from more than half of these healthcare facilities by
groups of between 2 and 10 people, wearing civilian clothing.”
“ Many pregnant women with high-risk conditions including those
with hypertension, diabetes and HIV, have remained unmonitored and untreated. Many HIV
patients have gone for over two weeks without their medication, while others were left with
just a few days’ supply at the time MSF staff spoke to them.”