South Africa hosted approximately 2.4 million international migrants as of 2022, accounting for 3.9% of the population. Most come from the Southern African Development Community region including Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Lesotho, Malawi – countries with which South Africa shares deep economic, cultural, and historical ties.  Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) notes explicitly that immigrants “play a role in South Africa’s economy, contributing to economic growth, and diversity.” By comparison, 8.1 million South Africans have moved between provinces according to the same Stats SA report. Internal migration, therefore, accounts for a substantially larger movement of people within South Africa than international migration, and both forms of population mobility require effective planning and resource allocation, including for health services.   Xenophobia has a history within democratic South Africa dating back to the early 1990s. Increasing anger and frustration with unemployment, poor service delivery and a sense of abandonment by government is channelled towards migrants