UNITED NATIONS, CMC—The United Nations said Wednesday that the humanitarian situation in Haiti continues to be severely affected, further limiting people’s access to life-saving care in and around the capital of the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country.
Stéphane Dujarric, the spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, told reporters that “our humanitarian colleagues say that violence continues to affect the health sector.
“According to our health partners, only 20 percent of health facilities in Port-au-Prince are fully operational. The fact that 80 percent of them are not fully operational is due to attacks and looting by armed groups,” Dujarric said, adding that the resumption of some commercial flights at the Port-au-Prince International Airport at the beginning of the week is “a positive development.
“Our humanitarian colleagues say the airport must be fully operational, but we also need the seaport to reopen to bring in more supplies. A lot of the seaport is crucial to ensure the entry of medicine and medical supplies into the country to replenish dwindling stocks,” Dujarric said.
The UN spokesman said that since late February, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and its partners have supported the delivery of healthcare services to more than 21,000 displaced men, women, and children, mainly in the Port-au-Prince area, through mobile clinics.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said it has facilitated the delivery of 38 tonnes of supplies, including health and cholera kits and other essential medical commodities.
“The delivery was made possible via an airbridge from Panama into Cap-Haïtien, and that is being supported by the European Union Aid Office and operationalized by the World Food Programme (WFP), who, as you know, deal with logistics, among other things,” said Dujarric.
Regarding the deployment of the Kenya-led multinational security support (MSS) mission for Haiti, Dujarric said, “You could ask everybody about the deployment of the troops except us.
“I would reach out to the Kenyans, the Americans…and the Haitians,” he added.
In October last year, the UN Security Council authorized the mission and asked the Secretary-General to establish a trust fund to channel voluntary contributions to the operation.
At the end of April, the UN spokesperson confirmed that Canada, France, and the United States had deposited US$18 million in the fund.
The Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Chad, Jamaica, and Kenya have officially notified the Secretary-General of their intent to contribute personnel to the support mission.
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