The Haitian Civil Protection General Directorate (DGPC) says 137,000 families have been affected in the Grand'Anse, Nippes, and Sud provinces. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), approximately 650,000 people are in need of emergency humanitarian assistance. The provisional death toll is now more than 2,200, according to Haiti’s Office for Civil Protection, and more than 12,000 people have been injured as of August 22.
Landslides and flooding brought on by recent storms, including Tropical Storm Grace, have caused additional damage to areas where people are already struggling to access basic services like medical care. This has complicated rescue efforts by making more areas inaccessible and endangering tents and temporary structures being used for urgent medical care, aid, and shelter. Additionally, it has further isolated many municipalities in the affected areas from the rest of the country, making it difficult to get accurate death and injury counts.
In terms of infrastructure, nearly 53,000 homes were destroyed, and more than 77,000 homes were damaged in the three most affected provinces, according to Haiti’s Office for Civil Protection as of August 22. This has left thousands of people without shelter and critical structures like hospitals, schools, hotels, churches, and businesses. According to initial assessments by OCHA, 36 health facilities were damaged or destroyed by the earthquake. Many hospitals had to evacuate their patients, and the facilities that continue to function are overwhelmed and experiencing a lack of medical equipment and medicines.
MSF operations in Haiti
Responding to people’s needs in in Sud province
In the first hours after the earthquake, the MSF team based in Port-à-Piment and an emergency medical team from Port-au-Prince began assisting injured patients in Sud province. The hospital in Port-à-Piment where MSF runs a sexual and reproductive health project was damaged. The patients, most of them seeking maternity services, were evacuated to a tent where our team continues to provide care. In Port-à-Piment, MSF is also stabilizing and facilitating the referral of patients injured by the earthquake, including patients MSF has managed to evacuate from nearby Les Anglais, which is cut off from the rest of the province due to road damage.
In Les Cayes, the capital of Sud province, MSF has started surgical activities in the Hôpital Général des Cayes—also called L'Hôpital Immaculée Conception— along with logistical support. MSF is also running a mobile clinic, distributing essential non-food items, and performing water and sanitation activities in three communities serving 1,600 displaced households. Additionally, MSF has provided donations, such as tents and medical supplies, to various hospitals in Les Cayes to ensure continuation of medical activities.
In Port-Salut, an MSF team has received patients with injuries and fractures, including patients referred from Port-à-Piment, Les Anglais, and Les Cayes, and provided stabilization, surgical, and follow-up care. On the first day of the response, 26 patients were received at this location.
On Monday, August 23, MSF began running a mobile clinic to more remote communities, including Maniche, Camp Perrin, and Cavaillon, where people have less access to aid and health care and were most affected by the earthquake.
MSF has also provided donations of medical supplies to three health centers to help facilitate the stabilization and referral of patients in Les Anglais, Chardonnières, and Rendel.