Haiti: MSF forced to suspend operations at the Isaïe Jeanty maternity hospital amid violence
Violence forces MSF-supported maternity hospital closure, leaving women without essential care.
Since the night of June 13 to 14, violence has been escalating around the Isaïe Jeanty maternity Hospital, supported by Doctors Without Borders/Médecins sans Frontières (MSF), in Cité Soleil. Caught in the crossfire and facing an untenable situation, the teams have been forced to suspend their medical activities. Access to sexual and reproductive healthcare, already extremely limited in the area, is now almost non-existent. Thousands of people, particularly women, are unable to seek safe medical care.
For the past five days, violent clashes between several armed groups have been taking place in the neighbourhoods of Belekou, Fort‑Dimanche and Wharf Jérémie. Gunfire continues, hitting the walls of the Isaïe Jeanty maternity hospital in the Chancerelles neighbourhood directly triggering displacement and panic among the communities in the area.
“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 country director in Haiti
On the evening of June 15, more than a hundred people — mostly women and children — fleeing the fighting sought refuge and access to water inside the maternity hospital. One woman was injured in the leg by a stray bullet inside the hospital grounds and was stabilized by our teams on site. The MSF hospital in Tabarre also treated people injured following the clashes in the area.
Following further escalation in the fighting, the authorities were forced to suspend activities the next morning. MSF continued to provide emergency care, patients’ stabilization and referrals for several days, but was then forced to evacuate staff and suspend all activities on the morning of June 19.
“We have tried to provide a minimum level of lifesaving support to communities with a reduced team and limited capacity,” says Nicholas Tessier, MSF country director 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 healthcare for women is almost non‑existent. Many are forced to give birth at home in precarious conditions, significantly increasing the risk of obstetric complications.
The suspension of activities at the Isaïe Jeanty maternity hospital, caused by this latest surge in violence, further worsens an already critical situation: women now have almost no options left to receive care.
MSF had already been forced to temporarily suspend activities in May at our hospital in Cité Soleil, located a few kilometres 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 agencies respect civilians and that health facilities are protected at all costs so medical teams can treat people in need.
