A baby who was born prematurely is being held hostage by the hospital he was born in, until his parents pay a €75K hospital bill.
Baby Kiama Mwangi Kamau was born early, at 25 weeks, on February 11, in the United Arab Emirates, in the city of Sharjah.
The tot is now in the best of health and could go home, but the hospital refuses to let him leave, as his parents have not been able to pay their expensive hospital bill, according to The Daily Express.
Mother Ruth Wambui Mwaura, from Kenya, had been on holiday in the UAE when she went into labour. She said: "I had to be rushed to the emergency department of the hospital, and Kiama was born the next day."
As the little boy needed to stay in hospital, the cost of the care racked up, and Kiama’s parents are now facing having to pay a hefty hospital bill of €75K - an amount they say they will never be able to afford.
Kiama’s mum, who had planned the delivery in her home country, said: "I am currently out of work and my husband is a petrol pump filler. His monthly salary is €410, and there is no way we can afford the big amount.
“We certainly were not prepared for something like this. We could not have imagined in our wildest dreams that we would be in this situation.
"It's very painful for us not to be able to give him a homecoming because we do not have the money."
Kiama remains in hospital care, and the parents are banned from taking their little one home. The case is ongoing.
Unfortunately, this happens on a regular basis in some countries where parents are unable to pay for certain treatments or procedures, such as a C-section.
In Indonesia, in 2011, a mum of twins was only allowed take one of her babies home from hospital, as she had only saved enough money for the delivery of one child, according to the BBC.
Yetriana Lopez was separated from her two sons for four months, until her husband found the money to pay a $500 bill. In a shocking twist, the hospital then 'sold' her baby to a stranger, and she had to launch a search to find him. Thankfully, Yetriana was able to track down her son and bring him home.
This is such a shocking story - we hope the parents and hospital can come to some agreement so little Kiama can be with his family where he belongs.
