{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,28]],"date-time":"2025-11-28T17:02:20Z","timestamp":1764349340113,"version":"3.45.0"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"BMJ","issue":"4","funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100000269","name":"Economic and Social Research Council","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["N\/A"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["N\/A"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100000269","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["bmj.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Med Humanities"],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,25]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,12]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>The COVID-19 pandemic was an unprecedented crisis characterised by widespread disruption and significant loss of life. Governments worldwide responded with a myriad of containment measures aimed at curbing the spread of this deadly virus. In South Africa, a nation accommodating migrants from diverse backgrounds, COVID-19 mitigation protocols were authorised but met with criticism not limited to local citizens. Cross-border migrants decried these measures as manifestations of medical xenophobia and 'migrantcide', engendering reluctance among many, particularly migrants, to seek medical treatment from public healthcare facilities.<\/jats:p>\n                  <jats:p>This article delves into the perspectives and beliefs of Congolese and Somali asylum seekers and refugees living in South Africa, with a particular emphasis on their perceptions of COVID-19 within an immigration landscape often fraught with hostility. The central argument posits that animosity and state negligence in a time of socioeconomic difficulty exacerbated migrants' misconceptions regarding COVID-19, contributing to their hesitancy in using South African public healthcare facilities during the pandemic. The profound deficit in trust between refugees and healthcare practitioners, stemming from inadequate communication channels, further exacerbates existing tensions and mistrust.<\/jats:p>\n                  <jats:p>Based on extensive fieldwork conducted in 2021 among Congolese and Somali communities in Yeoville and Mayfair\u2014two suburbs of Johannesburg, South Africa populated by migrants\u2014this paper explores the various meanings, perceptions and beliefs surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. It examines how these factors contributed to rising anxiety and fear, as well as the diverse responses adopted to address the deadly disease. The hesitancy of migrant groups to seek medical assistance from public healthcare facilities led them to explore alternative means of managing COVID-19 symptoms. While some of these approaches occasionally yielded positive outcomes, they often fell short of achieving the desired results, potentially resulting in an increased number of infections and fatalities that remained untested and unreported.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1136\/medhum-2024-013172","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,25]],"date-time":"2025-03-25T02:12:38Z","timestamp":1742868758000},"page":"493-500","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/crossmarkpolicy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Beyond medical xenophobia: Congolese and Somali refugees\u2019 struggles, perceptions and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa"],"prefix":"10.1136","volume":"51","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7489-5538","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Dostin Mulopo","family":"Lakika","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Social Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa"},{"name":"IFAS-Research, French Institute of South Africa, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Tackson","family":"Makandwa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"African Centre for Migration and Society (ACMS), University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"239","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,24]]},"reference":[{"issue":"1","key":"2025112408200650000_51.4.493.1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"53","DOI":"10.1108\/IJMHSC-04-2015-0012","article-title":"\u201c\u2018Don\u2019t Send Your Sick Here to Be Treated, Our Own People Need It More\u2019: Immigrants\u2019 Access to Healthcare in South Africa\u201d","volume":"13","author":"Alfaro-Velcamp","year":"2017","journal-title":"International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care"},{"key":"2025112408200650000_51.4.493.2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Braun V. , and Clarke V. . 2012. \u201cThematic Analysis\u201d. In Apa Handbook of Research Methods in Psychology, Vol 2: Research Designs: Quantitative, Qualitative, Neuropsychological, and Biological, 57\u201371. Washington: American Psychological Association.","DOI":"10.1037\/13620-004"},{"key":"2025112408200650000_51.4.493.3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/2159676x.2019.1628806"},{"key":"2025112408200650000_51.4.493.4","unstructured":"Braun V. , Clarke V. , and Weate P. . 2016. \u201cUsing Thematic Analysis in Sport and Exercise Research\u201d. In Routledge Handbook of Qualitative Research in Sport and Exercise, 191\u2013205. 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S . 2016. \u201cEntrepreneurship amongst Somali Migrants in South Africa\u201d PhD dissertation, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg"},{"issue":"1","key":"2025112408200650000_51.4.493.9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"271","DOI":"10.31920\/2516-5305\/2021\/18n1a13","article-title":"\u201cThe Challenges of COVID-19 Pandemic and South Africa\u2019s Response\u201d","volume":"18","author":"Ikwegbue","year":"2021","journal-title":"African Renaissance"},{"key":"2025112408200650000_51.4.493.10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.mayocp.2015.09.006"},{"key":"2025112408200650000_51.4.493.11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.3389\/fsoc.2024.983148","article-title":"\u201cDo Black Women\u2019s Lives Matter? A Study of the Hidden Impact of the Barriers to Access Maternal Healthcare for Migrant Women in South Africa\u201d","volume":"9","author":"Jaiswal","year":"2024","journal-title":"Frontiers in Sociology"},{"key":"2025112408200650000_51.4.493.12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Jinnah Z . 2017. \u201cCultural Causations and Expressions of Distress: A Case Study of Buufis Amongst Somalis in Johannesburg\u201d. In Urban Forum, 111\u201323. 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