Haiti’s newly appointed Prime Minister Garry Conille and the country’s police chief visited Port-au-Prince’s largest hospital on Tuesday after authorities regained control of the institution from armed gangs over the weekend.
Haitian police chief Normil Rameau announced in a news conference on Monday that police had taken control of the Hospital of the State University of Haiti, also known as the General Hospital, on Sunday night. This action came after months of escalating attacks by armed groups.
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Rameau, who did not take questions from the media, stated, “Haitians will wake up one morning and find the operation done, the bandits stopped, and neutralized.” He was joined by Kenyan officer Godfrey Otunge, who noted that the UN-backed Kenyan police contingent plans to collaborate closely with Haitian authorities and local and international partners dedicated to rebuilding Haiti.
The ongoing violence from criminal groups has severely strained Haiti’s health system, causing a surge in patients with serious illnesses and a shortage of resources to treat them. Gangs have been looting, setting fires, and destroying medical institutions and pharmacies in the capital, where they control up to 80% of the area.
Haiti’s healthcare system, already struggling before the violence, faces additional challenges from the rainy season, which is likely to exacerbate conditions and increase the risk of water-borne diseases. Poor hygiene conditions in camps and makeshift settlements have heightened the risk of diseases like cholera, with over 84,000 suspected cases reported by UNICEF.
In addition to the hospital, gunmen have seized police stations, attacked the main international airport (which was closed for nearly three months), and stormed Haiti’s two largest prisons.
A report from the UN migration agency indicated that the violence in Haiti has displaced nearly 580,000 people since March.
