Moroccan Mothers Flock to Spanish Enclave for Free Healthcare and Citizenship

According to a health official at the Melilla hospital, in 2020 there were a total of 1,196 births compared to 2,476 in 2019, a decrease of nearly 50%. This decline is due to the closure of borders between the two countries due to the coronavirus pandemic. These figures are far from the 3,000 children born in the Spanish enclave in 2015, the majority of Moroccan origin.

To support his statements, the health department of the Melilla hospital announced the birth of the first baby of the year 2021. It is Safia, born on January 2 at 1:50 pm to Moroccan parents.

Two years ago, the right-wing group "Grupo Popular" had denounced the increasing number of Moroccan women traveling to Ceuta and Melilla to give birth. At that time, Moroccans accounted for 60% of the births in the enclave, calling on the government to tighten the conditions for access to Spanish nationality by imposing a continuous and habitual residence of 10 years. "This movement of Moroccan women largely responds to an intervention by organizations that offer them to give birth on this side of the border," the political party wrote in a statement.