Dominican Medical Association (CMD) president Dr. Pedro Sing says that illegal birth tourism from Haiti costs the Dominican government an eye-watering RD$5 billion a year. Dr. Sing called for the authorities to review the country’s migration policies, describing them as weak and interest-influenced. He speculated that there are people who are dedicated to the business of illegal birth tourism. Sing said most Haitian mothers arrive at public hospitals and a large number have anemia, hypertension and other illnesses that raise the cost of medical care.
Interviewed by Julio Martinez Pozo on the Channel 7 Toque Final programme, the doctor said that all patients received healthcare services because they are human beings. However, he said that the government needed to improve the legal enforcement of its migratory policies.
“If there were no connections in each country, this traffic would not exist. The investigative organizations need to do their job and look into this business that people talk so much about so that it does not continue to occur,” he said.
In the interview, Dr. Sing said that the government should increase public health spending and called for the decentralization of health services as set out in Law 87-01 and Decree 379-14 that create the new National Health Department.
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