Migration and Health in light of COVID-19: Lessons from Malawian migrants in South Africa
21 February 2025- Dr Martina Lembani, UWC School of Public Health
- Siphosihle Koti – Masters Student
Health care seeking practices and access to health care by migrant parents and/or caregivers with under-five children in the Western Cape Province in South Africa: An exploratory study
The aim of this study is to explore healthcare seeking practices and access to healthcare services among migrant parents and/or caregivers for their under-five children in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The study will focus on 4 countries namely; Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
Project Period
August 2021 – December 2023
Project Summary
Globally, migration is increasingly gaining significant attention due to the escalating numbers of people moving across boarders as well as within countries. The global number of international migrants is reported to have increased from 150million in 1990 to 280.6million in 2020, women and children up to19 years comprised the majority of these migrants with 48.1% and 14.6% respectively (Organization for International Migration (OIM), Migration Data Portal, 2023a). are all integrated into the local communities unlike in some countries where refugees are placed in settlement camps.
While these migrants, refugees and asylum seekers leave their countries in search for better livelihood or safety, they are often met by a host of challenges along their migration journey as well as in the destination countries (Ajakaiye et al., 2006; Akintola &Akintola, 2015). These range from exclusion or limited access to basic social services including health services, housing, water and sanitation and other issues such as gender-based violence, poor wages, language barriers, among others (African Union, 2021; Salami et al, 2021). All these affect the health status and well-being of migrants. Wickramage and colleagues (2018), provide a valuable illustration of the various phases of migration and factors influencing the health of migrants in their migration journey. Children of migrants are especially vulnerable to due to the socio-economic status of their parents and/or caregivers. They are likely to suffer from limited access to essential health services and good nutrition, low education of the parents and/or caregivers, and other socio-demographic variable and may also experience discrimination which could further compromise their health (Markkula et al. 2018; Rademeyer, 2019). In a scoping review of the health of African immigrant and refugee children, Salami and colleagues (2021) reported a general decrease in the health of this population group for most health conditions.
Objectives of the study
The objectives of this study include the following:
- To explore literature on health care seeking practices and access to health care services among migrant parents and/or caregivers with under-five children in LMICs.
- To describe the health conditions of under-five children of migrant status and the parents and/or caregivers’ health care seeking practices in the Western Cape province.
- To explore experiences of migrant parents and/or caregivers in accessing health care services for the under-five children in the Western Cape Province.
- To explore factors that influence the health care seeking practices among migrant parents and/or caregivers in accessing health for their under-five children.
- To explore potential innovative solutions to addressing challenges related to health seeking practices and access to health care services among migrant parents and/or caregivers with under-five children in the Western Cape Province.