Portugal Colonial - UN warns of 3,000 pregnant women in peril as gang crisis brings Haiti to 'standstill'

Gang violence engulfed the long-troubled Caribbean nation last week, prompting warnings from aid groups of a shortage of medical facilities and staff.

"If greater Port-au-Prince remains at a standstill in the coming weeks, almost 3,000 pregnant women could be denied access to essential health care, and almost 450 could face life-threatening obstetric complications if they do not receive medical assistance," the UN's office in Haiti said in a statement Friday.

The Haiti crisis has drawn concern from the US which has told the country's absent Prime Minister Ariel Henry to enact "urgent" political reform to prevent further escalation.

Criminal groups, which already control much of the capital as well as roads leading to the rest of the country, have attacked key infrastructure in recent days, including two prisons, allowing the majority of their 3,800 inmates to escape.

The gangs, along with some ordinary Haitians, are seeking the resignation of Henry, who was due to leave office in February but instead agreed to a power-sharing deal with the opposition until new elections are held.

Henry was in Kenya when the violence broke out and has since been unable to return to Haiti, reportedly stranded instead in Puerto Rico.

On Thursday, Haiti's government issued a month-long state of emergency for the western region, which includes the capital, and decreed a nighttime curfew until Monday.

Haiti's airport remained closed Friday, while the main port -- a key source for food imports -- cited instances of looting since it suspended services on Thursday, despite efforts to set up a security perimeter.

"If we cannot access those containers (full of food), Haiti will go hungry soon," the NGO Mercy Corps warned in a statement.

In a press release Friday, the UN also warned that more than 500 sexual violence survivors could be without medical care by the end of March if conditions do not improve.

"Today, too many women and girls in Haiti are victims of indiscriminate violence committed by armed gangs. The United Nations stands by them and is committed to continuing to provide the assistance they need," said the UN's Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Ulrika Richardson.

"Fighting to stop violence against women in Haiti and investing in them is indispensable for ensuring a just, prosperous and peaceful society."

A.Magalhes--PC