Public Health Minister Daniel Rivera says that 14% of the Ministry of Public Health’s budget is being spent to provide care to the Haitian population residing in the country and those who cross the border in search of medical services.
Rivera said that the health system is strained by the high demand of Haitian patients. He expressed concern about the epidemiological impact of diseases such as malaria, cholera and diphtheria that Haitian migrants bring. He added that 27% of the patients in the HIV-AIDS and tuberculosis programs are Haitian.
Rivera said that the Dominican Republic and Haiti have different health policies. He said the one here is effective and the one in Haiti simply does not work. He warned that the lack of health policy in Haiti could cause a financial and health collapse and an outbreak of diseases that do not exist in this country.
He said that Public Health has a lot of pressure on the health issue due to the high Haitian presence in the hospitals. He called for resolving the socio-political and economic crisis affecting Haiti to avoid diseases imported by the foreigners. He spoke of impact in public hospitals in southwestern provinces of San Juan de la Maguana and Azua.
Dr. Rivera said in the maternity hospitals of Mao, in Valverde; Santiago de los Caballeros and Pedernales, 75% of the women giving birth are from Haiti. He said Dominican women are forced to seek attention at the private clinics at their own cost.
He reported that last year 34.83% of the births at public hospitals were to Haitian migrants. He said the public hospitals also pick up the costs to care for Haitians suffering from serious cases of cardiac problems and traffic accidents affecting Haitian migrants.
Rivera spoke when participating in a meeting at the Dr. Arturo Grullón Regional Children’s Hospital in Santiago through the Infection Control Program on International Hand Hygiene Day.
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Hoy
8 May 2023