Healthcare in Haiti under attack by armed gangs, reports OCHA – UN

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti  – Health facilities in Port-au-Prince metropolitan areas continue to be impacted by the ongoing violence – further restricting access to life-saving care for people in and around the capital.

Two health care facilities – Delmas 18 hospital and Saint Martin health centre were looted by armed groups on 26 and 27 March.

La Paix University hospital remains open and the Pan American Health Organization and World Health Organization (WHO) continue to support the facility, including with the provision of medicine, medical supplies and fuel. However, due to the closure of the State Hospital in Port-au-Prince, La Paix is facing significant strain amid increased workloads for staff.

Our humanitarian colleagues also report that last week, ten pharmacies in the capital were looted, making it even more difficult for people to get their medication.

Despite ongoing insecurity, response efforts continue. [Yesterday], the World Food Programme distributed hot meals to more than 27,000 people in Port-au-Prince.

Last week, UNICEF, the Pan American Health Organization, and local partners carried out nearly 600 medical consultations in displacement sites through their mobile clinics.

Also, last week, UNICEF, the International Organization for Migration, and partners distributed nearly 300,000 litres of water from 23 March through 1 April. Partners have also delivered hygiene kits in displacement sites.

Haitians ‘cannot wait’ for reign of terror by gangs to end, says rights chief

Meanwhile, restoring public order and ensuring access to aid must be priorities in Haiti, where criminal gangs continue to terrorize the population, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Tuesday in Geneva.

“The scale of human rights violations is unprecedented in Haiti’s modern history,” Volker Türk said in a video statement to the UN Human Rights Council, part of an interactive dialogue on his most recent report on the Caribbean country.

“This is a humanitarian catastrophe for an already exhausted people.” Read more here.

 HAITI Emergency Situation Report No. 14  As of 2 April 2024

Humanitarian Developments in Port-au-Prince #14- 2 April ENG FINAL

On 30 March, the World Food Programme (WFP), the Logistics sector and partners chartered a boat to deliver cargo from Port-au-Prince to Gonaives. The 18-truck shipment contained, among others, medicines and medical supplies for more than 100 health partners in the northern region and food to replenish close to 30 distribution centres in the Nord-Ouest Department, including schools and hospitals. Some of these structures had not received any new supplies since August 2023.

The consignment also allowed the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to assist some 5,000 migrants who have been returned from the Dominican Republic.

Gang attacks on healthcare facilities continue in the Port-au-Prince Metropolitan Area (ZMPAP), further restricting access to health care. Armed groups looted the Delmas 18 hospital and the Saint Martin health centre on both 26 and 27 March 2024. The Haiti State University Hospital (HUEH), slated to reopen on 1 April, as well as the Bernard Mevs hospital, remain closed.

La Paix University hospital (HUP) remains operational with the support of the Pan-American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), which includes the provision of medicines and medical supplies, fuel and other logistic assistance to ensure continued operations. However, due to the closure of the State Hospital, it is facing significant strain amid increased workloads. Armed groups raided ten pharmacies near the state hospital last week, worsening people’s ability to obtain necessary medications.

PAHO/WHO will continue directing its limited funding towards urgent life-saving needs by focusing on supporting the continuation of emergency and essential health services, including for pregnant women and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in hospitals. NGOs who receive funding will continue conducting mobile clinics in IDP sites.

HIV and Tuberculosis service sites continue to be affected, mostly in ZMPAP, with HIV testing being the most affected service.

UNAIDS supports the ministry of public health and population and its partners to facilitate service delivery, as well as resource mobilization, with potential additional investments within The Global Fund and the United States President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) implementation of HIV grants, with a focus on victims of sexual violence. In the Ouest Department, the 10 gender-based violence (GBV) shelters supported by The Global Fund are overcapacity and 14 more have recently been informally organized by civil society organizations.