Haiti’s Ministry of Health estimates that nearly 40% of facilities providing treatment beds, including the country’s main university hospital, have closed in the past two months alone because of insecurity and looting, mainly due to caused by gangs.
Haiti, and Port-au-Prince in particular, continues to see unprecedented levels of brutality and lawlessness as gangs continue to vie for influence and territory.
Meanwhile, about 580,000 people are displaced within the country.
Here are five things you need to know about the current health situation in Haiti and what the United Nations is doing to help.
1. Access to health care is still scarce
The security crisis is having a major impact on an already fragile health care system.
Access to health care – as well as essential social services, sanitation facilities and psychological support in Haiti – is scarce and capacity, especially in the capital, remains inadequate. same limitation.
Dr. Oscar Barreneche of PAHO meets with a patient at La Paix University Hospital, in Port-au-Prince.
Medical facilities have closed or sharply reduced operations as they are running out of vital medicines and medical supplies, some of which have been looted.
In the Artibonite area, just north of the capital, where gangs have recently taken hold, only a quarter of health facilities are functioning.
The number of available medical staff, who often cannot come to work because of security concerns, is also dwindling. UNICEF estimates that about 40 percent of health care providers have left the country recently “due to extreme levels of insecurity.”
2. Women and children are suffering
According to the UN sexual and reproductive health agency, the closure of hospitals and health facilities has left about 3,000 pregnant women with difficulty accessing maternal health services. United Nations Population Fund.
A child in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, learns about the importance of hand washing for his health.
The neonatal, pediatric and nutritional units that are still operating are overloaded and the few that still operate in areas controlled by armed groups do not have enough human resources, equipment and medicine to provide adequate medical care. providing essential health care and nutrition services.
The United Nations fears that the child health and nutrition crisis could claim the lives of countless children. Unrest in Port-au-Prince has made feeding at least 58,000 severely malnourished children in the metropolitan area nearly impossible.
United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM) also available warning that violence and unrest are affecting the mental health of displaced people, including women, leading to suffering and even suicide.
3. Healthcare system To be still works
The United Nations says two in five Haitians need urgent medical care and that although the country faces many challenges, the health care system is functioning and some patients are receive the necessary treatment.
La Paix University Hospital, in Port-au-Prince, supported by PAHO, is on the front line providing services – including treatment of gunshot wounds and other emergency care needs.
La Paix University Hospital in Port-au-Prince continues to provide health care to patients.
Hospital director Dr. Paul Junior Fontilus told PAHO that an emergency plan had been activated “to better manage the influx of seriously injured people. Our priority is to ensure that all victims All patients receive the immediate care they need.”
4. There are some positive developments
The international airport in Port-au-Prince was closed because of gang activity but it has reopened, a positive development according to Dr. Oscar Barreneche of PAHO: “The reopening of the airport has brought a lifeline, allowing us to restock critical medical equipment. supplies and equipment. However, the battle is far from over as humanitarian conditions worsen for growing numbers of Haitians.”
The emergence of the Multinational Security Assistance Mission (MSS) in Haiti (albeit with UN backing) Security Council The mission, which is not a United Nations operation, will provide operational support to Haitian police in combating gangs and enhancing security around critical infrastructure such as hospitals.
The United Nations Security Council also called on the MSS, through its support to the police, to help ensure safe and unhindered access to humanitarian aid for those receiving assistance.
5. UN agencies continue to respond
Together with local partners, the United Nations and other humanitarian organizations are providing life-saving assistance every day.
In areas where displaced people have fled, PAHO is providing assistance along with IOM, UNFPA and the World Food Program (WFP).
Displaced residents take shelter at a boxing arena in downtown Port-au-Prince after being forced to flee their homes due to gang attacks.
UNFPA and PAHO are supporting three hospitals in Port-au-Prince to provide maternal health services, including emergency obstetric care. They are also providing medicines and supplies, including clinical management of rape survivors, to 13 health facilities in the capital and surrounding area. They have deployed mobile clinics to seven displacement sites to support the sexual and reproductive health of women and girls, reaching nearly 4,500 people so far.
Thousands Dignity kits Toiletries and other essential items have also been distributed to the most vulnerable.
“We face ongoing challenges that require steadfast support and action to ensure stable and accessible health care for those who need it,” said Dr. Oscar Barreneche of PAHO. demand.”
Read the United Nations Humanitarian Office, OCHALatest emergency report This.
