Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières- MSF) has launched an emergency medical response after a surge in anti-migrant violence displaced tens of thousands of people across South Africa, leaving at least four people dead and destroying homes in multiple provinces.
The medical humanitarian organisation has deployed teams to Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, the Western Cape and the South Africa-Zimbabwe border towns of Musina and Beitbridge, where they are providing primary healthcare, chronic care and psychological support to displaced communities.
Anti-migration groups issued a public ultimatum for all undocumented migrants to leave the country by 30 June. While organisers claimed they were only targeting undocumented migrants, refugees, asylum seekers and documented migrants have also experienced threats, violence and intimidation, according to patients who spoke to MSF.
Tens of thousands of people – many from Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Ghana—have fled their homes due to fears for their safety. Displaced people are seeking refuge in parks, churches, consulates and other locations across the country.
Claire Waterhouse, MSF emergency coordinator, said the situation is escalating into a humanitarian crisis.
“We are deeply saddened to see people fleeing harassment and violence and we stand in solidarity with affected communities who have had their rights to health and dignity undermined. Our priority is to address disrupted access to healthcare for those most at risk, regardless of who they are or where they come from,” Waterhouse said.
MSF is prioritising continuity of care for people with chronic illnesses including diabetes, hypertension, HIV, tuberculosis and mental health conditions, as well as young children, pregnant women and survivors of violence.
Phumla Tsotetsi, an MSF nurse, explained the organisation’s concerns.
“MSF is particularly concerned about continuity of care for people living with chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, mental health, HIV and TB where lack of treatment or medication interruptions can lead to serious health complications,” Tsotetsi said.
“We have also treated women who have recently given birth, some with c-section wounds from a few days before the protests that have yet to heal.”
Three MSF teams of up to 10 staff have set up mobile clinics to provide primary healthcare, chronic care, psychological support, first aid and to distribute essential items including hygiene kits. Teams are monitoring sanitation management for potential public health risks and supporting referral pathways to clinics and hospitals for patients requiring further care.
In Cape Town, MSF’s medical team consulted with a mother who had recently been evicted by her landlord because she was undocumented. Her young son, who has a rare form of cancer, needed urgent chemotherapy. Although he was eventually admitted to hospital, it remains unclear whether the family will be able to remain in South Africa.
In Johannesburg, an MSF psychologist supported a woman with a pre-existing mental health condition who had been unable to access her medication after fleeing violence.
“She was experiencing severe hallucinations and was at risk of self-harm. Fortunately, our team’s doctor was able to help her restart her medication the same day,” Tsotetsi said.
In Musina, an MSF team is urgently scaling up operations to respond to the medical needs of people gathered near the border.
Thulani (45), a Zimbabwean man, described his experience to MSF.
“They just burn my house. They burn everything. I was just crying, you know, if you are a big man, you can’t cry, but they take everything they want,” he said.
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MSF has provided free medical care to South Africans as well as migrants, asylum seekers and refugees in South Africa for more than two decades and has repeatedly responded to the health impacts of xenophobic violence, including during major outbreaks in 2008, 2009, 2015 and 2019. The 2008 attacks were the deadliest, killing at least 62 people and displacing more than 100 000.
In December 2025, together with other civil society organisations, MSF secured a Gauteng High Court judgment ordering the state to take immediate action to end the obstruction of physical access to certain public healthcare facilities by anti-migrant groups and some healthcare workers. The judgment reaffirmed that access to healthcare must not be denied on the basis of nationality or immigration status.
Waterhouse said the organisation is also responding beyond South Africa’s borders.
“Our team in Zimbabwe is responding already and in Mozambique we are assessing the medical humanitarian needs of returning migrants. Contrary to the emerging narrative that the xenophobic action has neither been that violent nor the consequences too catastrophic, affected migrants have shared testimonies with MSF on how badly they have been treated,” she said.
MSF will continue to work with affected communities, the South African provincial Departments of Health and civil society organisations to adapt the emergency response as needs evolve.
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