How Cross-Border Trade Is Reviving Sorghum Migration routes are becoming organic grain corridors—here’s why it matters A Quiet Revival Along Southern Africa’s Borders In 2023, South Africa imported over 280,000 tonnes of sorghum, much of it moving informally across borders before entering formal markets.This shift signals more than a trade adjustment. It reflects a nutritional, […]
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
Breaking Down Borders, Building Health Systems: The Cross-Border Coordination Crisis in Southern Africa Introduction: When Borders Become Barriers to Health Maria, a 34-year-old Mozambican mother living in Nkomazi, South Africa, discovered she was HIV-positive during antenatal care. Immediately, healthcare workers started her treatment. However, when she returned to Mozambique for a family emergency three months
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
Bridging the Treatment Gap: Supporting Migrants with HIV/AIDS-TB Co-Infections in South Africa When Borders Become Barriers: The Silent Crisis Thirty-five-year-old Grace* travels between Zimbabwe and South Africa’s Limpopo province every three months. She works on commercial farms near Musina during harvesting seasons. Grace lives with both HIV and tuberculosis (TB), requiring consistent medication for both
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,
Long-Term Health Implications of Dietary Acculturation for Second-Generation African Migrants in South Africa Introduction: Migration and Metabolic Risk Consider a hypothetical child, born in Johannesburg to parents who migrated from rural Limpopo. At home, the family still eats traditional meals such as maize porridge (pap), leafy greens, and pulses. Outside the home, at school and
Migration Status and Nutritional Transition Among African Migrants in Urban South Africa From Rural Roots to Urban Plates When 28‑year-old “Maria” (pseudonym) moved from a rural Limpopo village to Johannesburg in 2019, she sought better economic opportunities. Instead, she encountered a food environment dominated by convenience and cost pressures. Fresh leafy greens and staples she
The Invisible Barrier: How Xenophobia Undermines Health Access for African Migrants in South Africa In June 2025, a 32‑year-old female migrant from Zimbabwe — let us call her Amina — arrived at a busy public clinic in Johannesburg with fever and persistent cough. Clinic staff demanded identification and proof of documentation. When Amina could not produce
