Haiti needs a strong COVID-19 response to maintain national stability
Against the backdrop of longstanding fragility, exacerbated by 18 months of a protracted political, economic, social and institutional crisis, the pandemic is “stretching this country’s already fragile health system and testing its meager social safety net”, Special Representative and head of BINUH, Helen La Lime, said via videoconference (VTC).
“A country of more than 11 million inhabitants, Haiti currently only has the capacity to treat a few hundred patients at a time”, she continued, also drawing attention to “suboptimal coordination within the State” and “inadequate funding of the national response plan”.
Ms. La Lime also maintained that if the public health and socioeconomic dimensions of the pandemic are not addressed urgently, they risk further aggravating the humanitarian and socioeconomic situation, threatening significant human suffering and large population outflows – significantly impacting the whole region.
Stepping up in Haiti
Despite the pandemic, over the past four months, BINUH and the UN Country Team have been assisting Haitian authorities and institutions in progressing towards stability and sustainable development.
“Along with its partners, it has advised the Haitian National Police in the successful resolution of long-standing labour disputes within its ranks, and it has assisted judicial actors in devising a virtual hearings system that will allow courts to continue functioning despite the current impossibility for them to physically convene”, she told the 15-member body.
Though seemingly small in scope, she believes that these advances have contributed to a cohesive police presence, that maintains order, and a judicial system that is able to guarantee victims’ rights in accessing justice.
“Unfortunately”, Ms. La Lime acknowledged, “we continue to operate in a context where the upholding of the principle of accountability remains a key challenge”.
Necessary reform
In the throes of the pandemic, a resurgence in gang activity is exacerbating the already volatile situation and compounding the plight of the most vulnerable.
“The past weeks have seen a marked increase in the frequency and intensity of clashes between rival armed gangs that are vying to control greater swathes of territory in the most populous neighborhoods of the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, likely in an effort to exert influence on the outcome of elections in those constituencies”, the UN envoy explained.
She upheld that the “vicious circle of mistrust, recrimination, and ultimately violence”, is again starting to define Haitian politics, at a time when the entire society should be unified in responding to the pandemic, and working toward lasting foundations on which to build a successful future for the nation.
It is becoming increasingly evident that Constitutional reform is needed to break the circle and create conditions for institutional stability, good governance and the rule of law, which she called “three essential characteristics for the country to thrive”.
“Such reform can only be successful as a result of a nationally-owned process that combines strong leadership with genuine efforts by all”, she stressed.
In closing, the Special Representative said that BINUH will continue to encourage authorities to “amplify the fight against impunity and the promotion of human rights”.
“Through a sound use of the panoply of tools at its disposal, the UN system in Haiti will continue to support the expansion of multiple aspects of the response to COVID-19, accompany the country on the path of crucial institutional and economic reform, and provide assistance to ensure the timely holding of free, fair, and transparent elections, in an appeased climate”, she concluded.
PAP JAZZ : LIVE STREAM
Good news for all PAPJAZZ fans abroad that can't attend the festival this year
Thanks to BRH, All the PAPJAZZ concerts taking place on our main stages will be live-streamed on our facebook page and of the pages of Chokarella, @haitiantimes, @haitianladiesnetwork , @ministereculturedhaiti and on the @métropolehaiti
See you everyday from Jan 16>23 from 6 PM - 9 PM
MEDIA ADVISORY: Elected Officials and Law Enforcement Leaders to Hold Briefing on What to Expect Ahead of Inauguration Day and Ongoing Threats of Violence
JOIN: Press briefing on January 15, 11:00 AM ET
Following the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, there has been heightened attention paid to extremists’ online organizing and threats levied against state capitals and Washington, D.C. Ahead of the 59th Presidential inauguration next week, the FBI and local law enforcement officials have shared public warnings of planned armed protests in all fifty states and D.C. These coordinated threats require a response that meets the urgency of this moment. While Washington D.C. has activated the National Guard for additional security next week, state and local leaders are planning their own response to protect individuals from targeted violence.
The nonpartisan Voter Protection Program (VPP) is holding a press briefing to discuss what to expect on Inauguration Day in states across the country and the days leading up to the event, and how elected officials and law enforcement leaders are working together to address ongoing threats of violence. This week, VPP released a report, “Countering Lies about the 2020 Presidential Election,” which examines election litigation in key battleground states and debunks the false claims that helped fuel the conspiracies that incited a violent mob to attack the U.S. Capitol. The VPP also shared guidance for law enforcement officers on how to address unlawful paramilitary activity, drafted by our partners at 21CP Solutions, the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown Law, and the Crime and Justice Institute.
VPP’s network of bipartisan state and local officials is working diligently to safeguard the integrity of this election.
Airlines, Caribbean scrambling after CDC orders COVID-19 test for US travel
JANUARY 14, 2021
Travel industry leaders and governments across the tourism-dependent Caribbean are scrambling to figure out how a new testing requirement for passengers flying into the U.S. will affect them.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced this week that as of Jan. 26, all international passengers arriving into the U.S. will need to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test, or recovery from the virus. The test will need to be taken no more than three days prior to departure.
The measures are designed to help slow the spread of the virus. But they also risk having U.S. travelers stranded in countries where testing isn’t easily accessible, and could further decimate international air travel in a region already struggling to recover from the pandemic’s economic fallout.
Even more worrisome is the potential burden the new measures might pose on already strained health systems. Ten months into the pandemic, most countries in the Caribbean and Latin America are struggling to keep up with testing demands as two new variants emerge in the hemisphere and the number of COVID-19 infections sharply increases in one of the world’s worst hit regions.
“These growing changes within testing requirements within the travel industry will undoubtedly cause a setback in the economic recovery of small vulnerable destinations globally,” Jamaica’s Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett said, as he announced the country’s plans to ramp up testing to meet the CDC’s new requirement.
“These adjustments will place added pressure on the resources needed to treat our citizens, especially in countries that have made considerable efforts to successfully bolster their health and safety standards to insulate tourists and citizens alike.”
The CDC requirement expands on an earlier one for passengers arriving from the United Kingdom and applies to visitors as well as U.S. citizens and permanent residents. The test can either be a viral reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, RT-PCR, COVID-19 test or a rapid antigen test.
Latin America and the Caribbean are Miami’s largest feeder market, with more than half of international overnight visitors to Miami-Dade County coming from the region in 2019, according to research from the county’s tourism marketing agency.
Though countries began opening their doors last year after months of lockdown, and many required negative COVID-19 tests for visiting foreigners, they benefited from the fact the U.S. had no such testing requirement —until now.
“These adjustments will place added pressure on the resources needed to treat our citizens, especially in countries that have made considerable efforts to successfully bolster their health and safety standards to insulate tourists and citizens alike.”
The CDC requirement expands on an earlier one for passengers arriving from the United Kingdom and applies to visitors as well as U.S. citizens and permanent residents. The test can either be a viral reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, RT-PCR, COVID-19 test or a rapid antigen test.
Latin America and the Caribbean are Miami’s largest feeder market, with more than half of international overnight visitors to Miami-Dade County coming from the region in 2019, according to research from the county’s tourism marketing agency.
Though countries began opening their doors last year after months of lockdown, and many required negative COVID-19 tests for visiting foreigners, they benefited from the fact the U.S. had no such testing requirement —until now.
But the pandemic is raging and data suggests infections are on the rise almost everywhere in the Americas.
In the last week alone, 2.5 million people were infected with COVD-19 in the region— the highest weekly caseload since the virus first reached the hemisphere, the Pan American Health Organization said.
That number includes record-breaking figures from more than a dozen states in the U .S., which is seeing more hospitalizations— over 132,000 — than when the pandemic peaked in the spring and summer combined, PAHO said.
Since the start of the pandemic, more than 39 million people across the region have become infected by COVID-19 and more than 925,000 have succumbed to the virus.
On Wednesday, PAHO officials reiterated the regional health body’s concerns over pre-departure testing, saying that it should not be used “as a tool to mitigate the impact of the spread of COVID-19.”