Upholding the Right to Health in Contexts of Displacement: A Whole-of-Route Policy Analysis in South Africa, Kenya, Somalia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo

Rebecca Walker (), Jo Vearey, Ahmed Said Bile and Genèse Lobukulu Lolimo
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Rebecca Walker: African Centre for Migration & Society (ACMS), University of the Witwatersrand, P.O. Box 76, Johannesburg 2050, South Africa
Jo Vearey: African Centre for Migration & Society (ACMS), University of the Witwatersrand, P.O. Box 76, Johannesburg 2050, South Africa
Ahmed Said Bile: SIDRA Institute, Garowe, Puntland, Somalia
Genèse Lobukulu Lolimo: Kinshasa School of Public Health, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo

IJERPH, 2025, vol. 22, issue 7, 1-19

Abstract: The Sustainable Development Goals commit states to Universal Health Coverage (UHC) for all; yet displaced populations—including asylum seekers, refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs), and undocumented migrants—remain systematically excluded from national health systems across southern and eastern Africa. This paper applies a whole-of-route, rights-based framework to examine how legal status, policy implementation, and structural governance shape healthcare access for displaced populations across South Africa, Kenya, Somalia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Drawing on 70 key informant interviews and policy analysis conducted between 2020 and 2025, the study finds that despite formal commitments to health equity, access remains constrained by restrictive legal regimes, administrative discretion, and fragmented service delivery models. Critical gaps persist in migration-sensitive planning, gender-responsive care, and mental health integration. The findings highlight the limitations of rights-based rhetoric in the absence of legal coherence, intersectoral coordination, and political will. To realise UHC in displacement contexts, health systems must move beyond citizen-centric models and embed migration-aware, inclusive, and sustainable approaches across all stages of displacement. Without such structural reforms, displaced populations will remain at the margins of national health agendas—and the promise of health for all will remain unmet.

Keywords: universal health coverage (UHC); internally displaced people (IDPs); healthcare; mental health; gender-aware; legislative frameworks South Africa; Somalia; Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC); Kenya (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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