The Centrale Nationale des Ouvriers Haïtiens (CNOHA) has expressed strong and categorical opposition to any attempt to privatize Haiti’s healthcare and social security system. In an open letter addressed to the Transitional Presidential Council (CPT), the union denounced the project, calling it a “national betrayal” that directly threatens the fundamental rights of workers and the most vulnerable citizens.
According to CNOHA, privatizing the healthcare and social insurance system would violate the principles enshrined in the 1987 Constitution, particularly Article 19, which guarantees access to healthcare for the most disadvantaged, and Article 23, which establishes a social protection system for risks related to illness and old age.
Institutions such as the National Old-Age Insurance Office (ONA) and the Work Accident, Sickness, and Maternity Insurance Office (OFATMA) are considered essential to the country’s social security. CNOHA fears that their privatization would worsen inequalities and expose citizens to market forces, making access to healthcare even more difficult for the majority of the population.
In its statement, CNOHA calls on all sectors of Haitian society to rise against this project, urging workers, unions, students, farmers, grassroots organizations, and civil society to mobilize. The organization also appeals to the international community and human rights advocates to take a stand against what it describes as the dismantling of social gains.
The media are also urged to play a crucial role in exposing this reform: “Inform the public and encourage action!”, declares CNOHA.
In response to this threat, CNOHA demands that the Haitian government implement three immediate measures:
- Strengthen public healthcare and social insurance institutions (ONA, OFATMA, public hospitals).
- Reinforce and support the Board of Administration of Social Security Organizations (CAOSS) for more efficient management.
- Adopt a decree prohibiting any form of privatization of the healthcare and social insurance system to ensure citizens’ protection.
With a resolutely determined tone, CNOHA‘s General Coordinator, Dominique St Eloi, assures that the organization will use all legal, social, and political means to prevent the implementation of this project. “We will not back down!”, he declares, emphasizing that any decision compromising the country’s healthcare and social future will face fierce resistance.
As debates over the modernization of the social protection system continue, it remains to be seen whether the Transitional Presidential Council will heed this union-led opposition or proceed with the implementation of this controversial reform.