Medical care and supplies are scarce as gang violence chokes Haiti’s capital

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Fresh gunfire erupted Tuesday in downtown Port-au-Prince, forcing aid workers to halt urgently needed care for thousands of Haitians.

Weeks of gang violence have forced some 18 hospitals to stop working and caused a shortage of medical supplies as Haiti's biggest seaport and main international airport remain closed, warned aid workers with The Alliance for International Medical Action, a Senegal-based humanitarian organisation.

“The situation is really challenging and affects our movement on a daily basis,” said Antoine Maillard, the organisation's medical coordinator based in Port-au-Prince.

The gang violence has driven about 17,000 people in the capital from their homes.

Many are crammed into abandoned schools and other buildings where they often share a single toilet.

Maillard said aid workers were able to reach one of the camps for displaced people on Tuesday, “but there were too many gunshots to provide support.”

He said the health crisis is worsening. It is difficult to find basic medications including antibiotics and antidiarrheals since gang violence has shuttered suppliers.

The limited medication available has doubled and even tripled in price.

That means Haitians like 65-year-old Denise Duval are unable to buy needed medication or see a doctor.

“My health right now is not good,” she said, adding that she has high blood pressure and often feels dizzy. “From hearing gunfire all the time, my heart beats a lot.”

Duval is taking care of three grandchildren whose mother migrated to the neighbouring Dominican Republic in search of work. The mother sends money when she can, but Duval said it's not enough to buy medication and support the children at the same time.

“We're living day-by-day and hoping that something will change,” she said as she sat outside her home and washed dishes in a bucket.

Gunfire still echoes daily throughout Port-au-Prince, though the gang violence has somewhat subsided in certain areas since gunmen began attacking key government infrastructure on February 29.

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