In a suit filed by public interest law group Section 27, the Johannesburg High Court ordered that the National Department of Health must provide free health care to pregnant migrant women and their children under the age of 6.
It further ordered all public health facilities to display notices stating that all pregnant and lactating women as well as children below the age of six have the right to free care irrespective of their nationality and documentation status.
Previously, Gauteng, which houses Johannesburg, had joined other provincial governments in enacting regulations that forced all pregnant migrants to pay up front a fee of $275 before they could be given any care.
Zimbabwean Mercy Mvundla said that the demand for payment was causing untold suffering to migrant women, many of whom could not afford services and were being turned away without help.
“It is quite a relief to us especially as foreign nationals mainly to us as women,” said Mvundla. “We thank whoever who helped on doing that because it was so traumatizing to see another woman giving birth in the open.”
Sasha Stevenson, the head of the Health Rights Program at Section27, told the media that “healthcare services during pregnancy are needed to ensure that a woman is safe, and she is able to carry the pregnancy to childbirth and that her fetus is safe, too. And, indeed, for young children it is very important that they are able to access the healthcare services that they need.”
The ruling has been welcomed by foreign nationals and a number of local South African organizations that supported the court action.
Zimbabwean Mercy Mvundla said that the demand for payment was causing untold suffering to migrant women, many of whom could not afford services and were being turned away without help.
“It is quite a relief to us especially as foreign nationals mainly to us as women,” said Mvundla. “We thank whoever who helped on doing that because it was so traumatizing to see another woman giving birth in the open.”
In response to the ruling the Gauteng Health Department spokesperson Motalatale Modiba said: “The Gauteng department of health takes note of the court ruling and is currently going through the judgment and its implications. We will comment further on it in due course.”
However, not all South Africans agree, including Zweli Ndaba, the Chairman of the Sisonke People's Forum.
It’s going to be a disaster for us,” he said. “We are saying enough is enough for illegal people to just do whatever they want to do in this country. That is a disaster itself.”
The Johannesburg High Court has mandated that the Government must show implementation of the court order by October 16.
