PORT-AU-PRINCE, March 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A container carrying essential items for newborn babies and their mothers, including resuscitators and other critical supplies, was looted in Port-au-Prince, aid agency UNICEF said in a statement, as gang violence and a humanitarian crisis worsened in the Haitian capital.
In addition to maternity and neonatal supplies, the looted container also held “early childhood development, education, and water equipment,” UNICEF said. More than 260 humanitarian-owned containers at the port are now controlled by armed groups that breached the main port last week, the UN’s child agency added.
The theft of the supplies “occurs at a critical moment when children need them the most,” said UNICEF representative Bruno Maes in Haiti. “Looting of supplies that are essential for life-saving support for children must end immediately, and humanitarian access must remain safe,” Maes added.
Three out of four women and children in the Port-au-Prince area do not have access to basic public health and nutrition, according to UNICEF.
There are only two functional surgical operating facilities available in the capital. Six out of 10 hospitals across the country are unable to function due to electricity, fuel, and medical supply shortages.
The bloodshed has continued in recent days, with several “bandits” killed during a police operation in a Port-au-Prince neighborhood where gang leader Jimmy “Barbeque” Cherizier lives and operates, the Haitian National Police (HNP) announced.
“New strategies are being implemented by the police institution with the aim of reclaiming some areas occupied by these armed gangs in recent days in order to facilitate the free movement of peaceful citizens,” a statement from the HNP read.
Haiti has struggled to resolve a long-running political and humanitarian crisis, and 80 percent of Port-au-Prince is currently controlled by gangs, according to UN estimates.
Inside the country, few safe spaces remain. All roads leading out of Port-au-Prince these days have been blocked by gangs. The national police have fought back, but with limited resources.
All access to ports and the international airport has been blocked.
Nothing is coming in either. Grocery stores are running out of food, gas stations are out of fuel, and hospitals are short on blood.
“Failure to stop the violence and reopen critical logistics routes will significantly exacerbate the healthcare crisis,” said Maes. “We are witnessing a humanitarian catastrophe, and there is little time left to reverse it.”
Meanwhile, the first flights of a UN air bridge between Haiti and the neighboring Dominican Republic have been completed, UN sources said.
Medical supplies would be the first freight, sources said, with UN workers being rotated in and out of the country. — NNN-AGENCIES
