December 22 11:25 AM

Haiti 2021 © Steven Aristil/AFP
Haiti
After a series of natural disasters and ongoing political and economic crises, Haiti’s health care system remains precarious.
Our work in Haiti
In 2022, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) endeavored to fill the massive gaps in health care in Haiti, a country wracked by escalating violence and a deadly resurgence of cholera.
Violent incursion by armed men in Tabarre hospital
July 7, 2023—Approximately 20 armed men violently entered the MSF hospital in Tabarre, Port-au-Prince, forcibly removing a patient being treated for gunshot wounds from the operating room. MSF strongly condemns this incursion, which demonstrates once again the unprecedented level of violence currently raging in Port-au-Prince. All trauma and burn care activities at the Tabarre hospital are currently suspended due to this incident.
Read more

What's happening in Haiti?
The already volatile situation has deteriorated significantly in Haiti as rival gangs wage a brutal war on the streets, paralyzing and isolating the capital, Port-au-Prince, for extended periods of time. These unprecedented levels of violence have led to a steep increase in the number of patients admitted to our hospitals. In July alone last year, over 300 people were killed, numerous cases of rape were reported, many houses were burnt down, and more than 20,000 people were displaced across the city.
In these very challenging conditions, our teams worked to maintain and expand activities in our three trauma and emergency hospitals in Port-au-Prince. We treated victims of gunshot and stab wounds and victims of sexual violence, as well as people with severe burns and injuries related to road accidents.

How we're helping in Haiti
Our hospital in Cité Soleil had to suspend activities in April last year after a patient was killed just outside the building. However, in July, we reopened the facility to respond to the large influx of wounded patients.
Following the announcement of an increase in fuel prices last September, violent protests broke out across the country. Barricades were erected, cutting off many of the main roads, and economic activity ground to a halt. The situation was compounded when one of the major gangs blocked access to the country’s main oil terminal for more than a month, exacerbating fuel shortages and forcing health care facilities to close or reduce services, as they depend on generators to produce electricity.

How we're helping
45,500
Emergency room consultations
5,780
Patients treated for physical violence
2,600
People treated for sexual violence
*Data from MSF International Activity Report 2022
More news and stories
Learn about MSF’s journalistic roots and our commitment to bear witness and speak out about the plight of the people we treat.
Learn about MSF’s journalistic roots and our commitment to bear witness and speak out about the plight of the people we treat.