SIHMA

Researching Human Migration across Africa

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04 Sep

SIHMA Press Review for September 2025

Africa

27 August 2025

The New Humanitarian

Niger arrests six Sudanese refugees in raid on Agadez camp

On 21 August 2025, Nigerien authorities arrested six Sudanese refugees from the Agadez Humanitarian Centre—key organisers of year-long protests over deteriorating conditions and lack of resettlement options. Witnesses reported the use of force during the raid, which involved officials from Niger’s National Eligibility Commission for Refugee Status (CNE). The detainees were later transferred to an unknown location, possibly Zinder, sparking concerns of enforced disappearance. UN Special Rapporteur Mary Lawlor condemned the arrests, calling for their immediate release. Despite these actions, daily peaceful protests continue, with refugees demanding dignity, protection, and urgent humanitarian support amid worsening living conditions and revoked refugee statuses.

Link: https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news/2025/08/27/niger-arrests-six-sudanese-refugees-raid-agadez-camp

25 August 2025

World Health Organization

Egypt, Libya, Sudan and Tunisia advance cross-border collaboration for migrant health

Egypt, Libya, Sudan, and Tunisia participated in a WHO–IOM-led simulation exercise in Cairo to strengthen cross-border health security amid rising migration in North Africa. The SimEx tested preparedness for population movements under the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005), focusing on equitable access to health care for migrants and refugees. Delegates from key ministries engaged in practical coordination exercises, identified gaps, and called for standardized procedures, legal frameworks, and sustained regional collaboration. Supported by Italy and Africa CDC, the initiative builds on prior workshops and marks a significant step toward inclusive, resilient health systems across the Eastern Mediterranean Region.

Link: https://www.emro.who.int/media/news/egypt-libya-sudan-and-tunisia-advance-cross-border-collaboration-for-migrant-health.html

 

7 August 2025

AhramOnline

Combating illegal migration

Despite Egypt’s success in halting illegal migration boats since 2016, some youth continue to migrate via neighbouring countries due to economic hardship, unemployment, and social pressures. In response, Egypt has implemented a comprehensive strategy, including Law 82/2016, which criminalizes migrant smuggling while protecting migrants. The National Coordinating Committee for Combating and Preventing Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Persons (NCCPIM&TIP) leads efforts through legal reform, training, and awareness campaigns. Initiatives like the Rescue Boats program and partnerships with international organizations aim to offer safe alternatives, vocational training, and entrepreneurship support. Media campaigns, school competitions, and community outreach target youth and families, while the National Referral Mechanism provides reintegration support for returnees. Egypt’s multi-sectoral approach reflects a commitment to prevention, protection, and sustainable solutions to irregular migration.

Link: https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/550768.aspx

 

Southern Africa

01 Sep 2025

Daily Maverick

Empowered women transforming Zimbabwe’s mining sector in new era of economic leadership

A powerful wave of intra-African migration is being led by women, particularly in Zimbabwe’s artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector, where migrant women from Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, and South Africa are transforming local economies. Through cooperative models, entrepreneurship, and community-building, these women are not only earning livelihoods but also driving regional integration aligned with the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and Free Movement Protocol. Despite operating in informal and often undocumented conditions, they are creating trade corridors, mentoring youth, and investing in education and health. To fully harness their impact, policy reforms are needed to formalize their work, secure mobility rights, and recognize their contributions to Africa’s economic future.

Link: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-09-01-empowered-women-transforming-zimbabwes-mining-sector-in-new-era-of-economic-leadership/?dm_source=dm_block_list&dm_medium=card_link&dm_campaign=main

8 August 2025

AllAfrica

Doctors Without Borders Calls for Urgent Action As Anti-Migrant Groups Block Access to Essential Medical Care for Foreigners in South Africa

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has sounded the alarm over escalating xenophobic actions in South Africa, where foreign nationals particularly Zimbabweans are being denied access to public healthcare. Even legally documented migrants are being blocked from clinics and hospitals, with anti-migrant groups physically preventing entry in provinces like Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. MSF warns that pregnant women, children, people living with HIV, and chronic patients are at severe risk, some having gone weeks without essential medication. The organisation is urging South African health authorities to uphold constitutional rights and ensure healthcare access for all, regardless of nationality or legal status.

Link: https://allafrica.com/stories/202508080190.html

8 August 2025

UNHCR

Cholera outbreak among refugees from Sudan’s Darfur, urgent funding needed

A deadly cholera outbreak has struck refugee settlements in eastern Chad, particularly Dougui and Treguine, where Sudanese arrivals from Darfur face worsening health and sanitation conditions amid dwindling humanitarian aid. With over 264 cases and 12 deaths in Chad and more than 4,300 cases and 113 deaths reported in Darfur, overcrowding, poor water access, and limited medical infrastructure are accelerating the crisis. UNHCR has suspended relocations to contain the spread and is urgently seeking $130 million to support 800,000 people through health, hygiene, shelter, and nutrition interventions. The outbreak underscores the dire consequences of prolonged conflict, displacement, and underfunded humanitarian response across the Chad–Sudan border.

Link: https://www.unhcr.org/news/briefing-notes/cholera-outbreak-among-refugees-sudan-s-darfur-urgent-funding-needed

 

South Africa

19 August 2025

The eastern Africa

Jobs for South Africans first: Malema shifts tone as immigration tensions rise

Julius Malema’s recent remarks urging Zimbabweans to seek employment in their own country mark a notable shift from his historically Pan-African stance, reflecting growing political pressure in South Africa to address illegal immigration amid deepening economic strain. His comments follow a scandal in Limpopo involving foreign-owned companies receiving municipal tenders and come as South Africa grapples with a rising unemployment rate now at 33.2%. Zimbabweans, who make up the largest immigrant group in the country, have increasingly become the focus of xenophobic campaigns led by Operation Dudula, an extremist group pushing for the exclusion of foreign nationals from public services and employment. Malema’s evolving rhetoric once supportive of Zimbabwean workers now aligns more closely with nationalist sentiments gaining traction across the political spectrum, including within the ANC–DA coalition government. The situation underscores the complex interplay between economic hardship, migration, and shifting political narratives in South Africa’s domestic landscape.

Link: https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/news/southern-africa/julius-malema-shifts-tone-immigrants-5160498

7 August 2025

Doctors Without Borders (MSF)

Ongoing xenophobic action puts at risk the lives of several non-South African patients

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has raised alarm over widespread xenophobic denial of healthcare access in South Africa, particularly in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, where anti-migrant groups are physically blocking non-South Africans including pregnant women, HIV patients, and those with chronic illnesses from entering public clinics and hospitals. MSF’s assessment across 15 facilities revealed that patients are being turned away, sometimes with the complicity of staff, leaving many without medication or access to treatment. The organisation is calling on national and provincial health departments to urgently intervene, uphold constitutional rights, and ensure safe, non-discriminatory access to healthcare for all. Personal testimonies from affected individuals underscore the human toll of these actions, which MSF warns could have devastating health consequences if not addressed immediately.

Link: https://www.msf.org.za/news-and-resources/press-release/ongoing-xenophobic-action-puts-risk-lives-several-non-south

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