Dominican president negotiates construction of two hospitals in Haiti

Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader announced on Sept. 16 that he and his Haitian counterpart, Jovenel Moise, are working together to build two hospitals on the border but the neighboring country’s territory.

Funding for the two health centers will be provided by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Abinader said.

“The IDB and its president and the commission and its key executives have committed to lead this project and raise funds to build these hospitals and maternity clinics so that the thousands of Haitian women who come to the country [Dominican Republic] can have their hospital, which would be public, and they would organize the legal and licensing part with the Haitian government,” he said.

He added that the IDB has agreed to donate both health centers and even provide maintenance for five years in collaboration with a U.S. NGO responsible for their management.

The President stated that he had been working on these projects for 16 months and asked the political class not to interfere in the negotiations between the Dominican State and the owners of the lands where the construction of the border fence between the Dominican Republic and Haiti is planned.

Regarding the border fence he announced in February, Abinader insisted that this issue, which concerns the protection of Dominican territory, should not be politicized.

He blamed the project’s delay on the political games played by some opposition parties, who wanted to persuade the owners of the land declared public utility to pay inflated prices per square meter.

Despite these administrative obstacles, the head of state assured that the first section of the border fence, with a length of about 55 kilometers, will be completed by 2023, while another 200 kilometers will be put out to tender.

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