UNICEF: Fuel Shortages in Haiti Put Lives of Children, Women at Risk
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Fuel shortages in Haiti are putting the lives of hundreds of women and children in jeopardy as hospitals run low on electricity supplies, according to UNICEF.
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Fuel shortages in Haiti put COVID-19 patients at risk.
Hundreds of women and children in Haiti could die if the country's fuel scarcity is not remedied, according to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
"With the insecurity that reigns in Port-au-Prince, the lives of many women of childbearing age and newborn babies are in danger because hospitals that should provide them with life-saving care cannot operate normally because of a lack of fuel," UNICEF Deputy Representative for Haiti Raoul de Torcy said in a Sunday statement.
He added, "They risk dying if the health services cannot provide them with adequate care."
According to UNICEF, some hospitals in Haiti have sent alerts of distress because they don't have enough gasoline to run their generators and keep their emergency services running.
Two main hospitals in the Haitian city of Port-au-Prince are unable to function effectively, putting the lives of 300 children, 45 women in maternity hospitals, and 70 other individuals in peril, including COVID-19 patients, according to local media reports cited by UNICEF.
The report added that more than 150 hospitalized COVID-19 patients who need emergency care are particularly at risk.
As a temporary solution, UNICEF has signed a contract with a local company to supply hospitals in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area with fuel - though the supplier was ultimately unable to deliver it - and has also assisted in the installation of more than 900 solar refrigerators in health facilities to keep vaccines in good condition.
