Haiti’s hospitals close to collapse as fuel remains scarce

PORT-AU-PRINCE, (Reuters) - Desperate to have her infant son Pierre admitted to hospital to treat his anemia and diarrhea, Mirlande Cherie set out two weeks ago on an odyssey to find a medical facility that had not already been shuttered by Haiti’s fuel shortages.

Cherie rode on the back of a motorcycle with Pierre in her arms as one hospital after another in the capital Port-au-Prince told her they did not have enough diesel to run generators that ensure electricity in the Caribbean nation.

On Wednesday, she finally arrived at the La Paix University Hospital, where only the pediatric ward was operating.

Fuel remains scarce as a coalition of gangs blocks access to fuel terminals to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, signaling the growing power of criminal organizations that this month kidnapped 17 U.S. and Canadian missionaries.

“I left my house on Oct. 14 to make the rounds of several public hospitals,” said Cherie, whose son first fell ill four months ago and worsened following treatment he received while staying with family in Haiti’s provinces.

“We are going through difficult times.”

The hospital, which is usually packed, was empty during a visit on Wednesday, because most wards were closed and few patients could arrive anyway due to lack of transport.

Haiti’s fuel shortages continue to threaten the operations of medical facilities, which cannot depend on the unreliable power grid for electricity, putting an additional burden on a population already struggling under rising malnutrition and gang violence.

Haiti’s hospitals generate electricity using diesel generators. But gangs in the increasingly lawless nation have blocked access to port terminals that supply that fuel, forcing hospitals to shut many of their wards.