Haiti hospital struggles during protests

The languid whack of a ceiling fan stirs the heat around the Intensive Care Unit. It’s the only sound on the ward. Because there is none of the life-saving equipment an ICU should have.

A solitary oxygen cylinder is the only object that separates the modern scene from the medieval.

There are three ICU patients in the State University Hospital of Haiti that occupies two blocks of the capital’s downtown area. The rest died, or left.

“The majority of patients have fled since the troubles began (when Haiti was hit by widespread rioting). We don’t have any records anymore, really. But as you can see — there are hardly any patients,” said junior doctor Wislet Andre — one of only two still working in the facility.

He specialized in emergency medicine, but the emergency room was deserted.