Medical care and supplies are scarce as gang violence chokes Haiti’s capital [Video]

PORT-AU-PRINCE – Fresh gunfire erupted Tuesday in downtown Port-au-Prince, forcing aid workers to halt urgently needed care for thousands of Haitians.

Weeks of gang violence have forced some 18 hospitals to stop working and caused a shortage of medical supplies as Haiti’s biggest seaport and main international airport remain closed, warned aid workers with The Alliance for International Medical Action, a Senegal-based humanitarian organization.

“The situation is really challenging and affects our movement on a daily basis,” said Antoine Maillard, the organization’s medical coordinator based in Port-au-Prince.

The gang violence has driven about 17,000 people in the capital from their homes. Many are crammed into abandoned schools and other buildings where they often share a single toilet.

Maillard said aid workers were able to reach one of the camps for displaced people on Tuesday, “but there were too many gunshots to provide support.”

He said the health crisis is worsening. It is difficult to find …