MSF suspends operations in sections of Haiti for three months

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, CMC -The French-based Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) says following the targeted attack on its convoy earlier in March, it has had to take “the difficult decision to withdraw” its services from two areas in Haiti for a period of three months.

In a statement, MSF said that the attack on the convoy on March 15 travelling between its Turgeau emergency centre and Carrefour trauma hospital as well as the deteriorating security situation in the capital, Port-au-Prince, led it to take the decision.

It said the three month suspension “will allow an assessment as to whether the evolving security context offers the necessary conditions for the return of MSF teams”.

MSF said that on the day of the attack, it had already evacuated the Turgeau emergency centre, as the fighting and the frontline had advanced dangerously close to the centre, with stray bullets landing in the compound every day.

It said during the evacuation of teams from Turgeau to the Carrefour trauma hospital, clearly identified MSF vehicles, using the only access road separating the two structures, were deliberately targeted by at least one hooded man in uniform. The MSF vehicles were shot 15 times. The incident forced MSF to stop using this route.

“The Turgeau emergency centre and the Carrefour trauma hospital are closely linked in their operations. Without the possibility of using this road to transfer patients, transport personnel or deliver medical supplies, these structures can no longer function,” says Benoît Vasseur, MSF’s head of mission in Haiti.

“This is why we have also been forced to withdraw from Carrefour as of 9 April 2025. This is an extremely painful decision, at a time when people’s vital medical needs continue to grow,” Vasseur added.

The MSF said that at these two medical facilities, its teams noted an alarming increase in the number of victims of violence.

It said between January and March 2025, MSF treated more than 750 people for violent trauma. At the same time, 3,600 emergency cases were treated.

They were the only medical facilities in the area to offer free care to victims of road accidents and domestic accidents, or to refer patients to appropriate facilities.

“Despite these withdrawals, MSF is continuing our activities in other medical facilities in Port-au-Prince and the south region of Haiti. The Tabarre trauma reference centre continues to treat victims of serious burns, accidents and violence. Hôpital Drouillard in Cité Soleil maintains a 24-hour emergency service, which includes physical and mental health treatment for victims and survivors of sexual and gender-based violence.”

MSF said that the Pran Men’m clinic continues to provide comprehensive medical and psychological care to sexual violence victims and survivors, including at its main facility in Delmas and at the Isaïe Jeanty maternity hospital.

MSF said that since 2021, it has also been sending mobile clinics to several sites for displaced people and disadvantaged neighbourhoods in the capital.

“However, medical transport has been suspended for all MSF teams in Port-au-Prince. Finally, in the south region, notably in Port-à-Piment and in the surrounding area, MSF continues to provide emergency obstetric and neonatal care, as well as maternal health services.”

MSF said that for over 30 years, it has responded to the major crises that have hit Haiti, ranging from earthquakes, hurricanes, cholera epidemics and continues to support people in the face of the current violence.

“However, MSF staff cannot continue risking their lives to provide this service,” it said, noting that on November 22 last year, it had to suspend all operations in the Port au Prince metropolitan area for around three weeks due to repeated attacks and threats against its staff.

“The extreme suffering of people in Haiti makes this decision all the more heartbreaking, but a dead or injured doctor or nurse can do nothing for patients in need,” said Vasseur.

“We reiterate our appeal to all parties concerned to respect the medical mission and ensure the protection of health structures, ambulances, patients and staff,” he added.

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