To respond to increasing needs, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) plans to intensify its humanitarian activities in Haiti in 2024. It will work in particular to ensure humanitarian access to those hardest hit by gun violence.

Robert Mardini, the Director General of the ICRC, who completed a two-day visit to Haiti earlier this month, noted on the ground the humanitarian consequences of armed violence on the population and discussed ways to strengthen coordination with the various actors. concerned.

"It happens too often that people injured in clashes cannot be transported quickly to hospital, among other things because ambulances cannot pass through areas plagued by armed violence," Mardini explained. "Our priority is to strengthen access and support to vital services in places like Cité Soleil, where few humanitarian organizations are present, by engaging with weapon bearers and coordinating with local actors."

Adding "The organization will intensify its efforts in the least accessible neighborhoods, improve access to essential goods and services such as health care and drinking water, and provide support to its partner the National Society of the Haitian Red Cross.

Too many people can no longer leave their homes because of the violence: they live in destitution and fear. We must also protect hospital staff and help them cope with deteriorating security conditions.

The ICRC will increase the number of hospitals it supports from 2024. In particular, it will provide them with medical equipment kits to treat the injured, organize training for first responders and community leaders, support ambulance services and contribute to the rehabilitation of the country's health infrastructure."

Let's recall that the ICRC resumed its operations in Haiti in August 2021. Its new office in Port-au-Prince helps meet the medical needs of the most vulnerable people affected by armed violence in the capital and its outskirts. ICRC teams work in Cité Soleil and Bas-Delmas and support six hospitals, the activities of the Haitian Red Cross as well as the National Ambulance Center in Port-au-Prince.

HL/ HaitiLibre