Dominican ombudswoman is calling for local authorities to give priority to Dominican women seeking maternity services. Zoila Martinez complained Dominican women are being displaced by the large numbers of undocumented Haitians at public health facilities. She said the available budget is not enough to serve all the needy Haitians that are coming to take advantage of free medical services at Dominican public hospitals.
She called for international cooperation to build facilities in Haiti to serve Haitian patients. She has petitioned for assistance from the Organization of American States, the European Union, France, and Canada so that Haiti can have the hospitals it needs.
Martinez said the issue is not discrimination, but rather the intent of the initiative is to improve health care services in Haiti as a way to reduce pressure on public hospitals in the Dominican Republic. She pointed out that the Dominican public hospitals cannot meet the demand of the locals, and much less of foreigners. She said that many diseases are spreading because of the high number of patients and a lack of facilities, equipment and staff. In April 2018, Martinez had proposed that the government build three maternity hospitals in Haiti to serve patients in Haiti who are crossing the border to give birth in the Dominican Republic.
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Diario Libre
14 May 2018
