Above: Port-au-Prince (CJ Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Haiti inaugurated the maternity ward at the State University Hospital of Haiti Friday to coincide with International Women’s Day.

While the maternity ward was one of the few buildings of the hospital to survive the Jan. 12, 2010 earthquake, it as severely damaged.

Even in its ruined condition, the ward saw 6,000 deliveries per year, with 12,000 prenatal consultations.

The renovation work, which cost a total of $150,000, was supported by the governments of the United States and France along with Haiti’s international partners.

Above: US Ambassador to Haiti Pamela White (left) at the inauguration ceremony

They included a rebuilt roof, a new water distribution network and a new electrical power system, along with new fans and a new paint job.

The US Agency for International Development provided a generator, a battery-operated inverter for three operating rooms and computers.

Some of the equipment was donated by the Association Martiniquaise Urgence Caraibes as well.

The French government will also be financing a professional training programme from 2013 to 2015 for maternity ward personnel, doctors and nursing and support staff.