Zimbabweans Denied HIV Medicine Due to Xenophobic Blockades in South Africa

FOR the past two decades, 49-year-old Renious Gumbi from Mberengwa in Zimbabwe lived in South Africa, where he worked as a bricklayer. Gumbi, who was living with HIV, received free antiretroviral (ARV) treatment from his local clinic in South Africa as, according to that country's Constitution, "everyone has the right to have access to healthcare services". But worsening economic conditions and growing unemployment in South Africa have led to the formation of anti-immigrant groups such as Operation Dudula and March and March, which have blamed non-citizens for service delivery problems - although these have been caused largely by systemic corruption. Over several months, anti-immigrant groups have blockaded many clinics and hospitals, refusing to allow non-citizens to enter. Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn As a result, Gumbi was unable to get ARVs since June and became seriously ill. In desperation, his wife, Senzeni, arranged for him to return to Zimbabwe using cross-border transporters known as malayitshas. Gumbi was at last given ARVs at the Zimbabwean border with South Africa, but it was too late. He died soon after returning to the country of his birth. "It was cruel for South African leaders to leave anti-migrant activists blocking my husband from getting his ARV treatment drugs," Senzeni told Health Policy Watch. "It is also heartless for the Zimbabwean government not to have a plan for its people living with HIV in South Africa when the same regime benefits from the money many Zimbabweans based in South Africa formally send to help their loved ones back home." Access to ARV treatment in Zimbabwe has grown more difficult since talks between the United States and Zimbabwe on future US aid for HIV and other health services broke down in February, jeopardising the HIV treatment of some 1.2 million people reliant on US aid. A recent study also projects that approximately 75,000 Zimbabweans will contract HIV within a year if there is a complete withdrawal of the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). While South Africa has also been badly affected by the US decision to phase out all HIV and other health support, it was not reliant on the US to pay for antiretroviral treatment. It is hard to estimate how many Zimbabweans are in South Africa as thousands have entered the country illegally through poorly policed borders. However, between two and three million Zimbabweans are estimated to be living in the country following the near-collapse of the Zimbabwean economy from the early 2000s. This has contributed to strain on the country's health services, already damaged by systemic government corruption. Despite the guarantees in South Africa's Constitution, Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo, chairperson of the country's Parliamentary Health Portfolio Committee, told Parliament last year that non-South Africans should only be entitled to emergency health services, not comprehensive healthcare, as the country does not have "unlimited resources". However, this would require changes to various laws and the Constitution. Meanwhile, in 2025 the South African High Court ruled that Operation Dudula could not bar people without South African identity documents from health facilities. But March and March gave undocumented migrants until 30 June to leave South Africa, and have resorted to threats, violence and ongoing blockages of health facilities. On 30 June, thousands of people were forced to leave their homes amid anti-migrant protests and violence in South Africa, seeking refuge in parks, churches, and consulates. Amidst the chaos, many Zimbabweans fleeing from the flaring xenophobic tensions in South Africa have heart-rending stories. Gilbert Muzokomba, aged 58, has lived in South Africa since 1999, and was also prevented from accessing his ARVs from a clinic in Gauteng province's East Rand. Five years into this 27-year-stay in South Africa, Muzokomba married a South African. In 2009, he and his wife teste

Lawyers advising clients with HIV living in South Africa should be aware of the potential for xenophobic blockades to disrupt access to life-saving medication and advise their clients on contingency planning, including securing alternative sources of ARVs or exploring relocation options.

Source: Original reporting via AllAfrica Zimbabwe