Hospital in Zimbabwe where desperately poor women are charged $5 every time they scream during childbirth
- New mothers forced to pay fine for 'raising false alarm'
- Exploitation discovered as campaign group tracks corruption
Poor women have been exploited at their most vulnerable time by a hospital that charged them $5 every time they screamed during child birth.
The shocking discovery was made by a U.S. group that campaigns against corruption, as it released its annual Global Corruption Barometer.
At the hospital in Zimbabwe, one of the poorest countries in the world, the fine was said to be for 'raising a false alarm', according to Transparency International.
Tough conditions: Charities such as Medecins Sans Frontier run maternity wards such as this one in Ivory Coast and in other developing countries to help new mothers
Women who were unable to pay the fine were allegedly kept in the hospital until their families could pay. Interest was also added to the fines, according to the Washington Post.
Many mothers already avoid hospital deliveries in the African nation because of the $50 cost, which is about the third of the average $150 income.
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