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Haiti - ICRC : The challenge of access to health care in a climate of insecurity 02/11/2023 10:09:00
Residents of areas heavily affected by gun violence have found it increasingly difficult to travel in and out of their neighborhoods. When they are injured or sick, their only option for treatment remains to go to the hospital, because health services in these neighborhoods are practically non-existent and medical staff have often stopped working there due to insecurity. Red Cross volunteers and staff are not spared from the violence. Access for Red Cross teams attempting to provide health care in such an unstable and dangerous environment depends entirely on the degree of acceptance and respect of all armed actors; moreover, they face immense distress while carrying out their work. In collaboration with other partners in the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, the Norwegian Red Cross trains CRH volunteers to better manage armed violence situations in the course of their work. Kidnappings, roadblocks, verbal and armed attacks are some of the incidents they may face, underlines Derek Spranger, operational advisor to the Norwegian Red Cross. In Haiti, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is engaging with communities affected by armed violence to facilitate their safe access to essential services, primarily emergency healthcare. It supports first responders and hospital personnel so they can quickly provide life-saving care in an impartial and effective manner to victims of gun violence and other emergencies. Additionally, we work to help communities develop their own strategies to deal with the consequences of violence. The ICRC engages with all armed actors to promote humanitarian principles and mitigate the risks that communities face. Some actions of the ICRC in Haiti: In 2023, the ICRC provided 6 hospitals with surgical kits for people injured by weapons. Each kit allows medical staff to treat 15 to 50 people, depending on the severity of the injuries. In two years (2022-2023), more than 290 people in Cité Soleil and Bas Delmas have received two days of first aid training as well as 255 first aid kits. 45 medical and health support staff participated in ICRC awareness sessions on how to defuse violent situations. More than 20 CRH volunteers participated in ICRC awareness sessions on safe behaviors to adopt to reduce risks. Following the cholera epidemic (September/October 2022), the ICRC was able to help 1,700 households in Cité Soleil to reduce the risk of epidemics by distributing 5,000 soaps, 36,000 sachets of oral rehydration salts and 180,000 chlorine tablets. Working with Health Through Walls (HTW), the ICRC prevented and mitigated the spread of the cholera epidemic in 18 detention centers across the country. Between November 2022 and June 2023, the Haitian Red Cross ambulance service received around 572 calls and treated 516 people, including 44 with gunshot wounds, thanks to financial, material and technical support from the ICRC. HL/ HaitiLibre
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