As armed clashes escalate in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, teams at Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) hospitals have received numerous wounded patients, including women and children. MSF urgently calls on the authorities and all parties involved to spare civilians and ensure access to health care facilities for all the wounded and sick, without distinction.
On October 18, several members of the Gang Suppression Force (GSF) disappeared after an attack on their vehicle by members of armed groups. Since then, heavy gunfire and drone strikes have increased in the Plaine du Cul-de-Sac area of northeastern Port-au-Prince.
Women and children are among the wounded
Between October 18 and 26, 30 patients injured by gunfire or drone attacks were admitted and treated at MSF hospitals in Tabarre and Cité Soleil.
"We are very concerned about this surge in violence in densely populated neighborhoods of the capital,” said Davina Hayles, MSF head of mission in Haiti. “Among the victims, we have admitted multiple women and children — it is shocking to see them arriving at our hospitals, wounded by gunfire or explosions."
"We fear that this armed conflict will claim even more victims and displace even more people in the coming days, particularly with the arrival of additional international security forces," Hayles said. "Some of our locally based colleagues have themselves been forced to leave their homes and take refuge on MSF premises. It is imperative that civilians be protected and spared.”
Essential services are becoming even more inaccessible
Due to the ongoing clashes, MSF staff have observed serious difficulties accessing health care facilities among some patients.
“Some patients with gunshot wounds took several hours to reach our hospitals in Tabarre and Cité Soleil,” Hayles said. “Roads and bridges are blocked, and any travel is extremely risky. In a capital city where the health care system has collapsed and many facilities are closed, it is essential to ensure there is access to functioning health care facilities like ours.”
In the various neighborhoods affected by armed conflict, MSF has also been forced to suspend mobile clinic operations and distributions of treated water. “This is a double blow for our patients and for people who lack access to treated water in these neighborhoods of the capital,” said Hayles. “At any moment, they could become direct or collateral victims, and on top of that, they find themselves deprived of access to health care and water. This situation is dreadful.”
