Humanitarian triumph, but politically dangerous

IT’S A humanitarian triumph but politically dangerous. It’s a policy based on good intentions but it may kneecap an already buckling public health-care system and stoke already explosive levels of xenophobic populism.

The Gauteng High Court this week ruled that provincial health departments must provide free health care at all facilities to pregnant and lactating women, and children under the age of 6, irrespective of nationality or documentation. The landmark ruling, issued by Deputy Judge President Roland Sutherland,