Birth Tourism and Africa

Birth tourism is a major financial commitment as it costs between $25,000 and $60,000. Antenatal service in Maryland, USA for example, could cost as high as $3,500 depending on one’s country of origin. Compared to the cost of the same service in an average hospital in Africa, it’s almost 300 per cent higher.

Birth Tourism and Africa

By Africa News

Tourism is a dynamic industry that grows everyday. Every year, new revenue sources are discovered by nations, and this includes exploration of newer forms of tourism.

One of the old, yet recently discovered forms of tourism is birth tourism.
Birth tourism is a form of tourism that involves a pregnant woman travelling to another country, usually a more advanced country in terms of technology and innovations for the purpose of giving birth.

Traditionally, giving birth in Africa used to be a private thing, sometimes done in homes or amongst family and friends with whom the expecting mother is familiar. Today, the story is different.

This type of tourism sells more in Africa because there are many third world countries on the continent, where basic amenities, even for those with the means, are not available.

In the past, the main reason was to gain access to better medical care, but today, the reason for birth tourism is to obtain citizenship for the child in a country with birthright citizenship.

While many nations have observed that birth tourism is sometimes simply a ploy to gain access to many subsidised amenities available without having to contribute much to the funding of these systems and programs in the destination countries, it is a form of tourism that Africans have embraced.

Research has shown that there are core reasons why various nationals including Africans embrace birth tourism and will continue to do so even though citizenship laws have become stricter, and no European country presently grants unconditional birthright citizenship.

Watch the video: here.

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