Congo woman saves young mothers from unpaid maternity bills

Anaelle Matuka 16, a student, holds her newborns at Bethesda Medical Center, where she has been detained for more than two weeks for lack of money, with her twins, in Ngaba a neighbourhood of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo February 18, 2023. Congolese businesswoman Grace Mbongi Umek helped releasing women from maternity wards after settling the unpaid bills. REUTERS/Justin Makangara

Three weeks after giving birth to twins, 16-year-old Annaelle felt like a hostage: the hospital would not let her leave until she'd paid her medical bills, but she had no money.

Her mother was doing shifts there as a cleaner to stump up the cash.