PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, CMC – United Nations Agency for Sexual and Reproductive Health (UNFPA) says thousands of pregnant women in this French speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member state no longer have access to health services .
UNFPA estimates that if the violence continues, around 3,000 pregnant women in Port-au-Prince will be deprived of essential support, of whom around 500 will likely experience complications and need emergency obstetric care, including cesarean sections.
The capital’s largest public health facility, the State University Hospital, closed, along with 12 of 15 health facilities supported by UNFPA.
According to the agency, the remaining hospitals are overloaded and armed groups controlling main roads are disrupting supply routes for essential goods such as food, water, medicine and blood.
To reach those most in need, the UNFPA and partners deployed two mobile health teams to five displacement sites in Port-au-Prince.
The mobile units currently welcome between 150 and 170 people every day, mainly women. They also provide food and hygiene kits, raise awareness of available services, as well as psychosocial support and emergency shelter in the event of rape and other forms of gender-based violence.
The number of displaced people has risen to more than 360,000 and half the population now faces record levels of hunger and in the midst of this disaster, more than 84,000 pregnant women do not have access to health services.
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