Haitian women are trapped between violence and poverty in Port-au-Prince

Cité Soleil is home to an estimated 300,000 people who have been cut off from humanitarian support for years.

“Before, I could sell a few things to support myself,” says Géralda, a mother of six and resident of Brooklyn. “But since the violence began, I barely leave the house anymore. I had to give up my business and now I have nothing left. I sent my children to their grandparents because I could no longer take care of them and I stayed here alone with my 6-month-old baby.”

Women on the front lines

“Women suffer even more here,” says Géralda. “We fear leaving our homes, trapped in a daily cycle of pain and fear.” In 2024, MSF teams provided care for 4,463 victims of sexual violence in Port-au-Prince. 

MSF teams support the Sainte-Marie health center, which was initially focused on general consultations and now also refers survivors of sexual violence to MSF's Cité Soleil hospital. In 2024, over 11,000 consultations were conducted, including 2,700 for children under 5 years old.

In Haiti, more than half of the population survives on less than $3.74 a day, making private health care costs prohibitive and leaving MSF as their only lifeline. In the capital, escalating violence—marked by frequent attacks and hospital looting—has pushed the health care system to the brink of collapse. Port-au-Prince now has only one functioning public hospital, which is struggling with severe shortages of blood, oxygen, beds, and surgical capacity.

Long-term neglect pushes communities toward health catastrophe

Since 2004, escalating insecurity has led to the gradual withdrawal of public services from Cité Soleil, leaving residents without access to clean water and sanitation. With no proper health infrastructure, they are forced to drink unsafe water and relieve themselves in the open. “We have no other choice,” says Alcélia, a mother of five who lives in a tin shack in Brooklyn with 10 others.

“Sometimes there’s no clean water, so we drink salty water, which causes itching and health problems,” says Géralda.

Heavy rains flood the area, worsening the spread of cholera, skin diseases, and urinary tract infections caused by contaminated water. “The water gives us spots on our skin, and my baby often gets sick,” says Cherlyne, a single mother of five, who is forced to beg for food for her children.

The upcoming rainy season, expected to begin in May, threatens to further deteriorate conditions in Brooklyn. Overflowing sanitation systems could worsen public health risks, while access to Brooklyn—linked to the capital by a single road clogged with waste and stagnant water—may become even more difficult.

“Imagine a community with no functioning hospitals,” says Elmondo Odans, an MSF physician working in Brooklyn’s only health center. “When violence erupts, we are forced to turn into an emergency room, even though we are just a health center meant for consultations. The needs are overwhelming, and the people here have nowhere else to turn.”