Covid-19 – Page 3 – health.migration.research

Effects of Covid-19 on Migration: Channel Africa

June 9, 2020January 13, 2021 admin

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to many countries closing their borders and instituting lockdowns, has left many citizens stranded across the globe. Last week, reports from the Malawian border with Mozambique, said over nine buses ferrying Malawian repatriates from South Africa, has crossed the Mozambique side of the border into Malawi, but are now stranded in no-man’s land. Authorities on the Malawi side have apparently not given the go-ahead and clarity, whether the repatriates should be let free to join their families or get tested and quarantined first. Meanwhile the International Organisation for Migration says thousands of African migrants are stuck in their countries of destination.

How is the Corona pandemic affecting the lives of refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants in South Africa and Canada?

April 28, 2020July 22, 2021 admin

People from other countries may be reluctant to present for testing or to report contacts that hold an irregular documentation status for fear of arrest. We need a blanket amnesty to ensure that all in South Africa feel safe to participate in testing and for effective contact tracing.

VIDEO: Unfiltered: Coronavirus

April 28, 2020July 22, 2021 admin

VIDEO: Unfiltered: Coronavirus ACMS Associate Professor Jo Vearey was recently part of an interview panel on the SABC News Unfiltered talk show that discussed migration and Covid-19 in South Africa. You can watch the conversation here.

OP-ED: Why xenophobia is bad for the health of all in South Africa

April 3, 2020July 22, 2021 admin

To successfully address COVID-19, our public health programming must engage with everyone in South Africa, including refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants from elsewhere on the continent and beyond. We must use inclusive language in our messaging, and avoid the tendency of the state to refer to South African “citizens”—rather than to “all in South Africa”—in their COVID-19 communication. We must work collectively and without discrimination if we are to have any chance of slowing down the virus’s spread. This isn’t negotiable: it is a must in the context of COVID-19 if we are to support, as best we can, our already struggling public healthcare system (which, by the way, is not struggling due to the presence of foreign migrants in the country, in spite of popular opinion to the contrary).

PODCAST: Winter is coming

March 21, 2020July 22, 2021 admin

As Europe shuts down in response to the spread of COVID-19, other African countries are just beginning to grapple with the early signs of the pandemic. In this show, we discuss the COVID-19 response in South Africa, where an impending winter, a long history of the HIV-AIDS pandemic, and xenophobic attitudes are combining to generate some surprising and unexpected responses to the crisis. Leading Public Health specialist, Professor Jo Vearey chats to Abbey Steele and Darshan Vigneswaran. Click here to listen to the podcast.