Medical tourism booming in Tunisia
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Transcript
00:00 Bintou Younoussa seems a little nervous.
00:02 She came from Niger, hoping doctors can finally help her conceive,
00:06 after three years of unsuccessful treatments.
00:10 My husband told me it was time to have a child.
00:15 I told him, we tried all that, but it didn't work.
00:19 So he advised me to come here to Tunisia.
00:22 One of his sister's-in-law went seven years without having a child.
00:25 She came here to Tunisia, she was the one who recommended Dr. Giroud to me,
00:29 she had an insemination and had twins.
00:33 Bintou is one of the two million foreigners to seek treatments each year in Tunisia.
00:43 Medical tourism is one of the few thriving sectors in a flagging economy.
00:47 Libyans, Algerians and more and more nationals from sub-Saharan Africa
00:52 all come attracted by prices lower than those found in Western countries.
00:58 Those who came from England, Switzerland, North America, Canada and the United States,
01:03 they came because the costs are ten times cheaper here in Tunisia than in the United States.
01:08 In vitro fertilization costs 30,000 US dollars,
01:11 whereas in Tunisia, at most, it will be 2,500 or 3,000 dollars.
01:15 But challenges remain, like the lack of direct flights with certain sub-Saharan African countries.
01:24 And visas are often difficult to obtain.
01:27 Still, medical tourism has strong economic potential,
01:31 with more than a billion euros in annual revenues.
01:34 Last year, medical tourism accounted for half of the entire tourism sector's income.
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