PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti (CMC) — The National Union of Haitian Police Officers (SYNAPOHA) is calling on the recently installed Presidential Transitional Council (CPT) to give priority to security issues in the French-speaking Caribbean Community (Caricom) country.

Members of the nine-member CPT were sworn into office last Thursday in what the regional integration movement, Caricom said “marks a significant achievement through a process driven by Haitians in the interest of Haiti.

“It also represents a critical step forward for both the council and the Haitian people in addressing the protracted, multidimensional crisis afflicting the country,” the 15-member grouping added.

CPT member Regine Abraham said the council will launch five major projects, including “the restoration of public security; the holding of a national conference and of a constitutional reform; the organisation of democratic, credible and participative general elections”.

In a statement posted on its X account, formally Twitter, SYNAPOHA said it hopes that CPT will give priority to security issues.

It is also calling for provision to the Haitian National Police of adequate means to combat armed gangs in the country.

The situation remains volatile at the national port, said United Nations spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric over the weekend as criminal gangs, which control most of the capital of Port au Prince, continue to wage war against the authorities.

Meanwhile, World Health Organization (WHO) says it “is deeply concerned” about the impact of violence on hospitals and health centres in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince, where less than 50 per cent of establishments are operating at normal capacity .

WHO said that those which remain functional lack supplies, and that “this means people are deprived of access to basic health care.

“There is an urgent need for the international community to increase its support and funding so that vital services can be provided and essential supplies delivered,” said the WHO.

Last Saturday a US Air Force C-130 flight landed at Toussaint L’ouverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, with a delivery of humanitarian aid from the Denton programme, the fourth such flight in the past week.

The cargo contained nearly 10 tons of vital medicines for the Haitian people, which were donated by non-governmental organisations MAP International, Lift Logistics, and Hope for Haiti.

These supplies will be distributed to 14 partners who treat more than 205,000 patients each year. These NGOs work closely with the Ministry of Public Health, organise mobile clinics under their direction, and administer vaccines to children.