Haiti - Rep. Dominican : Between 500 and 800 million dollars spent per year on Haitian parturients
Mario Lama, the Head of the National Health Service, recognized that the maternal mortality rate in the Dominican Republic was high, but he indicated that there is a factor that affects this rate, citing the case of Haitian parturients, who arrive in health centers without prenatal examination and which present 4 times more risk than a Dominican parturient.
"[...] Malnutrition, pre-existing chronic illnesses and above all, they come to our consultations or to the emergency room with very serious situations," declared the doctor adding "all these deaths, although they occur in our hospitals, are difficult to control," adding that major improvement plans have been carried out in hospitals, new maternity wards, strengthening of intensive care, in addition to the addition of nursing and medical staff, training and strengthening of laboratories."
Mario Lama said that 70 to 80 percent of maternal deaths are preventable, but "prenatal checkups are important and risky conditions are managed." There are factors that, despite our considerable efforts, continue to negatively influence our infant mortality rates, » recalling "in 2023 we had nearly 36% of Haitian parturients in our public network, in 2019 it was barely 23%, we are talking about nearly 13% more Haitian parturients in the public network and this is increasing by year after year," he added.
Concerning the expenses related to the medical care of pregnant Haitian women, Lama indicated that the former Minister of Health, Daniel Rivera, "had made an estimate and declared that between 500 and 800 million US dollars are spent annually for women Haitian women."
