The delivery room of the Centro de Diagnóstico y Tratamiento (CDT) Susana Centeno, located in the island municipality, closed eight years ago due to problems with its structure and its ventilation system. The construction of a hospital in Vieques, financed with Hurricane Maria recovery funds, has continued to be delayed.
“We can see the displacement from the investors buying and spending thousands of dollars, but also from the government when it eliminates essential services,” she added.
Malavé Bonilla explained that a high incidence of early pregnancy has been reported in Vieques. A gynecologist visits Isla Nena only once a week. Currently, there is no obstetrician treating Vieques women. Among the youth, there is little sexual education about contraceptive methods; alternatives to terminate pregnancies are not even available. Moreover, there are hardly any psychological services for the Viequense population, she added.
These social problems and others, which were captured in the living statues, were seen in the results of a survey of needs distributed among the women of Vieques. This will be the focus of their next actions, Malavé Bonilla said. “We are holding meetings, dialogues, workshops and education initiatives… We want more women to know about the alliance. We are in the stage of integrating young women into this (organizing) process,” she said.