SEMINAR: Why the Urban Matters in Understanding the Health of Migrants: Insights from a Border Space between South Africa and Zimbabwe

Venue: ACMS Seminar Room (2163), Solomon Mahlangu House (2nd floor), East Campus, Wits University (directions)

Zoom link: https://tinyurl.com/3dwkccpp, Meeting ID: 957 8662 4514, Passcode: 012731

Dr. Fehmida Qaddus Rabbani (Postdoctoral Research Fellow, African Centre for Migration & Society) will present a hybrid seminar exploring how everyday urban conditions shape the health and well-being of South Asian migrants in Musina. a busy South African town on the border with Zimbabwe.

Drawing on qualitative fieldwork and interviews with South Asian migrants, this paper highlights the important role of daily urban conditions, access to secure housing, work, safety, and social services, in shaping health outcomes. While migration and health research is often framed around healthcare systems and policies, this seminar argues that the health of migrants is deeply shaped by how they experience life in an urban border area, where many remain for extended periods rather than simply passing through.

Abstract: This paper explores how everyday urban conditions shape the health and well-being of South Asian migrants. Drawing on qualitative fieldwork in Musina, a busy South African town on the border with Zimbabwe, this paper draws on insights from interviews with South Asian migrants and their lived experiences of mobility, survival, and vulnerability in an urban border setting. While the field of migration and health research is often framed around healthcare systems and policies, this paper highlights the critical role of daily urban conditions, such as access to secure housing, work, safety, and social services in shaping health outcomes. Ultimately, this paper argues that the health of South Asian migrants is deeply shaped by how they experience life in an urban border area where many remain for extended periods rather than simply passing through.

Bio: Dr Fehmida Qaddus Rabbani is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the African Centre for Migration & Society (ACMS), CoRE Migration & Health, University of the Witwatersrand. Her research examines how migration, health, and urban life intersect through everyday experiences of mobility, settlement, transnationalism, and belonging. This presentation draws on her analysis of interviews with South Asian migrants conducted in Musina as part of the NIHR-funded GEMMS research project.