Organisations call for action against unauthorised obstruction of healthcare facilities

Civil society organisations advocating for equitable access to healthcare in public facilities have launched an application at the South Gauteng High Court seeking immediate intervention to end the obstruction that has left vulnerable patients unable to access essential medical services. Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), and Kopanang Africa Against Xenophobia (KAAX) - represented by SECTION27, have brought this application against several state respondents, including the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, the Gauteng Department of Health (GDoH), and the South African Police Service (SAPS). The application will be heard on Tuesday, 25 November 2025, and seeks an order compelling the state to ensure safe and unhindered access and to remove any unauthorised persons who obstruct or interfere with access to, or the provision of, healthcare services. 

Dozens of clinics in Gauteng have become “hotspots” of xenophobic vigilante action, where individuals have been blocking entry to patients who cannot produce South African identity documents, including foreign nationals and South Africans without identity documents. As a result, many patients have been turned away and denied healthcare. This hindrance affects everyone seeking medical assistance, including pregnant and lactating women, infants, and children - groups that are particularly dependent on continuous medical care. In essence, the continued denial of access to healthcare not only threatens the targeted groups without South African identity documents but also the broader public health system, as untreated illnesses and disrupted medical treatments can have serious consequences for entire communities.

The state has an obligation to uphold the Constitution and to ensure that everyone living in South Africa can exercise their right to access healthcare services, including reproductive healthcare. The Constitution guarantees that no one may be refused emergency medical treatment and that every child has the right to basic healthcare services. Despite numerous requests for assistance and coordination, the authorities have not taken effective measures to ensure access to these facilities. Their failure to intervene has created exclusion at public health facilities, thereby infringing on the constitutional right to access healthcare. 

The organisations are seeking relief to order the state respondents to take the following actions: first, to take all reasonable measures to ensure safe and unhindered physical access to the healthcare facilities for all persons seeking health services; second, to secure the removal of any unauthorised persons hindering access from the healthcare' premises or immediate surroundings; third, to station adequate numbers of trained security personnel at all access points; fourth, to place public notices at all access points prohibiting unauthorised interference and stating that violators will be removed and reported to the police; and finally, to report all incidents of obstruction to the SAPS, with the expectation that the SAPS will provide all necessary assistance to ensure access to these facilities. 
 

We reiterate that the ongoing vigilante actions at these clinics violate a range of constitutional rights, and that these rights are not qualified by affiliation to particular groups, nationality, or documentation status. It is therefore imperative for state actors not to pass the buck but to act decisively to protect the right to access healthcare, which can make the difference between life and death.