Giving birth is regarded as one of the most painful
human experiences a woman will ever encounter. To deal with the pain,
some women opt out for drugs, while others channel the pain by screaming
or grabbing a loved one’s hand. But if you’re in a Zimbabwe hospital
and you yell out during childbirth, your stay at the hospital could cost
you extra.
At a hospital in Zimbabwe, the Global Corruption
Barometer, a group that campaigns against corruption, released its
annual report, revealing that a Zimbabwe hospital exploits poor new
mothers by charging them $5 every time they scream. The charge is said
to be for ‘causing false alarm’, according to the report.
Zimbabwe
is a poor country and is in economic and political turmoil, so this $5
cost is untenable in a country where $50 is one third of the average
income and 95 percent of people in the country are unemployed.
Transparency
International contacted the Deputy Minister in Zimbabwe, who ordered an
investigation into the charges, and ordered that no additional fines be
charged. However, the charge for giving birth at a hospital is still
$50, far out of range for most women in the country. As it stands now,
many of the women avoid hospitals altogether due to cost.
The
group has now set up workshops in Zimbabwe to raise awareness about
corruption. Sadly, Zimbabwe is not alone. According to the group’s
report, more than a quarter of the world’s population has paid a bribe
at least once.
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