The city of Port-au-Prince in Haiti is the subject of this news article. During a recent morning in a hospital located in the center of gang-infested territory in Haiti’s capital, a woman experienced convulsions followed by a loss of consciousness, prompting a doctor and two nurses to swiftly intervene in an attempt to save her.
Haiti Health System Nears Collapse As Medicine Dwindles, Gangs Attack Hospitals And Ports Stay Shut
Electrodes were attached to her chest and an oxygen machine was activated, while the observers monitored a computer screen displaying a critically low oxygen level of 84%.
The cause of her ailment remained unknown to everyone.
Additionally, there is a severe lack of crucial medications used to treat seizures at the Doctors Without Borders hospital in the Cite Soleil slum.
“We have a severe shortage of the medication that she urgently requires,” stated Dr. Rachel Lavigne, a physician affiliated with the medical aid organization.
Every day, at hospitals and clinics throughout Port-au-Prince, a similar situation unfolds. Vital medication and equipment are becoming scarce or completely unavailable due to the increasing control of ruthless gangs over the capital and surrounding areas. They have obstructed roadways, compelled the early closure of the primary international airport in March, and halted operations at the nation’s largest seaport, where containers containing essential supplies are still immobile.
“All systems are experiencing a complete failure,” Lavigne stated.
The health system in Haiti has historically been vulnerable, but it is currently on the verge of complete collapse following the coordinated assaults by gangs on February 29th, which specifically targeted essential facilities in the capital and surrounding areas.
Due to the violence, numerous medical institutions and dialysis clinics, including Haiti’s primary public hospital, have been compelled to shut down. Situated in the heart of Port-au-Prince, the Hospital of the State University of Haiti was scheduled to resume operations on April 1 following its closure during the onset of the onslaught. However, there has been a compromise of the facility due to gang infiltration.
Haiti Health System Nears Collapse As Medicine Dwindles, Gangs Attack Hospitals And Ports Stay Shut
An escalating state of disorder has resulted in an increasing number of individuals suffering from cancer, AIDS, and other severe diseases being left without any viable options for treatment. Additionally, criminal gangs have been pillaging and setting ablaze pharmacies located in the central district of the capital city.
Doctors Without Borders has depleted its supply of certain pharmaceuticals often used to treat diabetes, high blood pressure, and asthma. Additionally, Lavigne reported that asthma inhalers, which are essential for preventing life-threatening attacks, are currently unavailable in the capital.
According to her, the medical personnel at the Doctors Without Borders facility made an attempt to rescue a youngster suffering from a severe asthma attack by administering oxygen. The previous treatment was ineffective, as was an alternative medicine. Ultimately, they administered him with adrenaline, a medication employed in critical situations to manage anaphylactic shock.
“We engage in improvisation and exert our utmost effort for the individuals present,” Lavigne stated.
Doctors Without Borders project coordinator Jacob Burns cautioned that the unavailability of regular medicines for chronic diseases is causing a decline in people’s health.
“The situation worsens and they exhaust all available alternatives,” he stated. Currently, there is a limited range of choices available to specific individuals.
Due to the urgent demand for medical assistance, the Doctors Without Borders hospital in Cite Soleil has been compelled to reduce the daily number of outpatients it attends to from 150 to 50, as stated by Burns. However, all emergency cases are still promptly addressed.
Every day, numerous individuals queue outside the hospital, exposing themselves to the danger of being shot by gang members who dominate the vicinity, all in anticipation of receiving medical attention.
Access to the hospital compound is granted to all individuals, however, the medical personnel have established a triage system to ascertain which 50 individuals will receive medical attention. Burns requested that individuals with less pressing need come back on a different day.
Haiti Health System Nears Collapse As Medicine Dwindles, Gangs Attack Hospitals And Ports Stay Shut
On Friday morning, a 51-year-old individual named Jean Marc Baptiste entered the emergency room with a blood-soaked bandage wrapped over his right hand. He claimed that the day before, while he was gathering firewood to sell as kindling in an area where criminal organizations predominate, law enforcement officers in a heavily protected vehicle fired at him.
Upon entering, the staff proceeded to remove the bandage, exposing a significant laceration on his thumb, causing him to cry out in agony. Lavigne advised him to seek the services of a plastic surgeon, which the hospital lacks, and requested X-rays to confirm the absence of a fracture.
SOURCE – (AP)
