Haiti

Haiti: Violence forces MSF to suspend operations at Isaïe Jeanty Maternity hospital

Thousands of people, particularly women, are unable to seek safe medical care.

June 19, 2026

Haiti: Violence forces MSF to suspend operations at the Isaïe Jeanty maternity hospital.

A courtyard inside the Isaïe Jeanty maternity hospital, photographed on June 12, 2026. It is the only public maternity hospital in Cité Soleil, Port-au-Prince, Haiti. | © Alexandre Marcou/MSF

Port-au-Prince—Since the night of June 13 and into June 14, violence has been escalating around the Isaïe Jeanty Maternity Hospital, supported by Doctors Without Borders (MSF), in Cité Soleil. Caught in the crossfire and facing an untenable situation, today MSF has been forced to suspend medical activities. Access to sexual and reproductive health care, already extremely limited in the area, is now almost nonexistent. Thousands of people, particularly women, are unable to seek safe medical care.

For the past five days, violent clashes between several armed groups have convulsed the neighborhoods of Belekou, Fort Dimanche, and Wharf Jérémie. Bullets have hit the walls of the Isaïe Jeanty Maternity hospital in the Chancerelles neighborhood, and the fighting has triggered displacement and panic in the community.

On the evening of June 15, more than a hundred people, mostly women and children, sought refuge and access to water inside the maternity hospital. One woman was hit in the leg by a stray bullet inside the hospital grounds and was stabilized on-site by MSF teams. The MSF hospital in Tabarre also treated injured people following the clashes in the area.

We can no longer continue: the hospital is riddled with bullet holes, our teams are exhausted, and it has become extremely difficult for ambulances to refer patients and find facilities able to receive them.
Nicholas Tessier, MSF head of mission in Haiti

As the fighting escalated, authorities were forced to suspend hospital activities the next morning. MSF continued to provide emergency care, patient stabilization, and referrals for several days, but was then forced to evacuate its staff and suspend all activities on the morning of June 19.

"We have tried to provide a minimum level of lifesaving support to the population with a reduced team and limited capacity," said Nicholas Tessier, MSF head of mission in Haiti. "We treated several women who managed to reach the maternity hospital despite the insecurity, including one who gave birth to twins. But today we can no longer continue: the hospital is riddled with bullet holes, our teams are exhausted, and it has become extremely difficult for ambulances to refer patients and find facilities able to receive them."

In Cité Soleil, home to around 300,000 people, access to health care for women is almost nonexistent. Many are forced to give birth at home in precarious conditions, significantly increasing the risk of obstetric complications.

The suspension of activities at Isaïe Jeanty Maternity hospital further worsens an already critical situation: women now have almost no options left to receive care. MSF had already been forced to temporarily suspend its activities in May at its hospital in Cité Soleil, located a few kilometerse from the maternity hospital. As the security situation continues to deteriorate, the entire health system in the area is under threat.

It is essential that armed actors respect civilians and that health facilities are protected at all costs so that medical teams can treat those in need.