WhatsApp Remittances and Health: The Cost of Feeding Families Across Borders Money From Abroad, Vegetables at Home, and the Economics of Eating Clean A 32-year-old electrician from Harare never thought he would leave Zimbabwe. Nevertheless, economic collapse forced him out. Today, he lives in Cape Town’s informal settlements, working casual jobs. However, his WhatsApp notifications […]
CHWs and Migrant Access to Public Health in South Africa Overcoming Language, Cultural, and Trust Barriers Opening: A Clinic Scene in Gauteng On a sweltering summer morning at a primary healthcare clinic in Gauteng, Amina arrives with her two young children. She has travelled from a nearby informal settlement where she works long hours cleaning
Excluding Non‑Citizens from Food Security in South Africa: Ethics and Policy Opening — A Case of Silent Hunger In late 2023, a family of Zimbabwean migrants living in a Johannesburg township reached out to a local NGO. The mother described how, after losing her informal‑sector job, her children went hungry for days because food parcels
When networks become lifelines: a migrant household in Johannesburg In 2024, a family of Mozambican migrants living in a township near Johannesburg spoke with researchers about their weekly food situation. They reported surviving on “what the group can afford together.” Neither parent had stable employment. Instead, they pooled income and shared staples bought in bulk
Climate, Displacement and Hunger: Why Migrants in South Africa Are on the Frontline In 2023, a household survey in Gauteng found that migrant households in the region had markedly higher risk of food insecurity than native-born households — even after controlling for employment, household size, and other socioeconomic factors. Wiley Online LibraryAt the same time,
Transnational Food Networks Among Somali Migrants in South Africa Opening: Food, Distance, and Survival In a small grocery shop in Mayfair, Johannesburg, 28-year-old Hawa carefully packs a crate of basmati rice, powdered milk, dates, and infant formula. These items are not meant for her household—they are intended for her mother and younger siblings in Hargeisa.
Economic Insecurity and Migrant Job-Seeking in South Africa Opening: Stories and Statistics That Set the Scene In the early morning light of a township in Johannesburg, 29‑year‑old “Grace” (name changed) checks her cell phone yet again. She left Harare in 2019, hopeful of earning enough in South Africa to send money home. She initially found
Deportation Policies in South Africa: Implications for Migrant Workers and Their Families Introduction: The Human Cost of Deportation Policies Between November 2023 and early 2024, South Africa witnessed a troubling trend. Police unlawfully arrested asylum seekers at Refugee Reception Offices across the country. Many of these individuals faced detention and deportation without full access to
Reporting Labour Exploitation by Migrants in South Africa Without Fear of Deportation Opening: The Urgent Reality Between 2023 and 2025, joint inspections by the Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) in South Africa exposed numerous undocumented migrant workers in exploitative conditions. They worked long hours, received low pay, and often had no contracts or safety
Migration Policies in Angola and SouthAfrica Opening: Two Nations, Two Legacies, One Challenge Maria, a 34-year-old Congolese refugee, crossed into Angola’s Lunda Norte province in 2018 with her three children. Today, she lives in the Lóvua settlement among 21,000 people who continue to require assistance to meet their basic needs. Meanwhile, Tendai, an undocumented Zimbabwean
