Newly-appointed Haitian prime minister Garry Conille was discharged from the hospital after receiving emergency treatment and spending the night there.
In a video published on YouTube, Conille said he was feeling well enough to continue leading the country. He made a reference to its current security crisis, saying that "the whole time I was at the hospital, I was thinking of something: People who need to go to the general hospital and can't get there. People who need health care and can't afford it."
Conille was taken to the hospital on Saturday night as a result of respiratory issues. News agency AFP said he had an access of asthma and there were chances he would need to be taken overseas. His office said he felt unwell after a week of "intensive activities."
He looked better in the video and added that he hopes to be able to continue toward forming a new government this week. "I am doing everything we can so we can get out of this crisis," he added.
Before being hospitalized, Conille, who was sworn in on June 3, held a series of appearances as he begins the monumental task of leading the country out of its chaotic situation and quashing gangs controlling large swaths of territory. One of his first jobs will be to form a cabinet that will seek to provide stability to the country and pave the way for presidential elections in 2026.
A medical doctor by training, Conille had served as Haiti's premier for a short period in 2011-2012, and was until recently regional director for UN aid agency UNICEF. He will have to oversee the deployment of an international force tasked with helping restore order as it continues to face delays, an unclear arrival date and doubts about the role they will play.
The force, which was initially set to arrive in the Caribbean country in late May, is also facing a new legal challenge in Kenya, whose police agents are set to lead the mission. A previous one contributed to delaying the mission for months as the situation in Haiti continued to deteriorate.
However, that is not the only challenge. The operation continues to be far from financially solvent, having received a small portion of the $600 million estimated to be needed. And there is renewed confusion about whether the foreign cops will be tasked with fighting the gangs that control large swaths of the capital, Port-au-Prince, or if they will solely protect key government infrastructures like the airport, seaport and the presidential palace. In the meantime, over 360,000 people have had to leave their homes due to the security crisis.
Forces were supposed to start arriving on May 23 to coincide with a visit by Ruto to the White House. Prior to leaving the U.S., the head of state said the deployment would take place about three weeks from then. Almost three weeks on, there is no set date either.
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