Haiti: WHO Concerned About Access to Health Care

On Monday, the World Health Organization (WHO) expressed concern about the access of the Haitian population to health care facilities amidst the current violence in the Antillean nation.

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"There is an urgent need for the international community to step up its support and financial resources so that vital services can be provided, and essential supplies delivered," stresses a WHO statement amplified here by national media.

Recently, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that only three hospitals are operational in Port-au-Prince, where gangs have brought the health system to the brink of collapse.

In the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, the Peace Hospital, the Ti Plas Cazo and the Elizer Germain Hospital are open, while 18 others have their services restricted or temporarily closed.

Patients participating in the TB and HIV/AIDS program are now collateral victims of gang violence, which prevents them from attending the hospitals.

Criminal gangs with their constant incursions put at risk the lives of patients who depend on dialysis sessions to stay alive.

Dialysis costs more than 500,000 gourdes a year (3,787 US dollars), even in public centers, and on top of the fact that it is an unaffordable treatment for many, those who can afford it find it impossible to get to the medical centers because of the crossfire.

Also suffering from the chaos in Port-au-Prince are efforts related to vaccination campaigns, epidemic control and chronic disease prevention, the daily Le Nouvelliste noted.