Haiti: fuel shortage threatens the functioning of hospitals
Newborn babies at Saint Damien pediatric hospital in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Sunday, October 24, 2021. The capital's main pediatric hospital says it only has three days of fuel left to operate medical equipment.
AP - Matias Delacroix
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
In Haiti, a new day of general strike paralyzed the main cities of the country on Monday.
Haitians protest against insecurity and fuel shortages.
In this tense context, several hospitals across the country are sounding the alarm.
If nothing is done, they will have to close their doors in the next few days
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Doctor Paul Toussaint heads the Baptist Convention hospital located not far from the city of Cap-Haitien.
Last weekend he made a distress call.
His hospital has been out of diesel for two weeks, and the generators are almost dry.
“
We have fuel left for three or four days.
Individuals come to our aid.
But still that's not enough
, ”he says.
A power failure will have dramatic consequences. The Baptist Convention Hospital is known for its neonatal unit. “
We have babies in neonatal intensive care. They depend on the energy that runs the equipment and provides heat. The operating theater also depends on electricity,
”explains the doctor.
Cesarean sections may in particular be suspended soon.
The lives of pregnant women and newborns are now at stake. Doctor Paul Toussaint places little hope in the Haitian authorities to save his patients.
The doctor therefore launches a vibrant appeal "
for international solidarity
."
The situation in Haiti is complex.
So we cannot let go of Haiti as we now have the impression that this is what is being done,
”he said.
"
No child in Haiti should die because of a power cut
," for its part said Unicef in a statement.
Growing gang control over the capital
For several weeks,
armed gangs have
controlled access to the country's only three oil terminals, all located in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince. As a result, traffic is at a standstill, as are business savings. This situation leads to the shutdown of mobile telecommunications service, whose antennas are supplied with electricity by generators. Because in Haiti, where the current is supplied only randomly, it is the diesel generators that produce the electricity.
Schools and businesses kept doors closed on Monday in the Haitian capital, where the streets, usually congested with traffic, were deserted following a strike call launched by public transport unions to protest against this insecurity growing.
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Also to listen: Haiti: "As long as we allow impunity and insecurity to develop, no way out is possible" [International guest]
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