Doctors Without Borders permanently closes its emergency center in Haiti’s capital : NPR

A vendor sells sugar cane next to the entrance to the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) clinic in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday, October 15, 2025, after the organization announced the closure of the facility due to ongoing violence.

Odelyn Joseph/AP

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Odelyn Joseph/AP

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Doctors Without Borders said Wednesday that ongoing violence in the Haitian capital has forced it to permanently close its Port-au-Prince emergency care center, which provided a critical lifeline in a city now 90 percent controlled by gangs.

More than 60% of the capital’s health facilities, including Haiti’s general hospital, are now closed or not operating due to rising gang violence.

The Doctors Without Borders emergency center, located in the Turgeau district, temporarily closed its doors in March 2025 after armed men opened fire on four organization vehicles that were evacuating staff from the center. Some employees were slightly injured.

“The building has already been hit several times by stray bullets due to its location close to combat zones, which would make resuming activities too dangerous for both patients and staff,” said Jean-Marc Biquet, MSF head of mission in Haiti.

Before the March attack, emergency center staff had treated more than 300 patients between February 24 and March 2. In February alone, the center reported more than 2,500 medical consultations.

The emergency center initially opened in the Martissant neighborhood of Port-au-Prince in 2006, but was forced to move to Turgeau in 2021 for security reasons. From 2021 to March 2025, the Turgeau emergency center treated more than 100,000 patients.

From January to June, more than 3,100 people were reported killed across Haiti and another 1,100 injured, according to the United Nations.

Gang violence has also led to the displacement of a record 1.4 million people, an increase of 36% since the end of 2024, the United Nations International Organization for Migration said Wednesday. Nearly two-thirds of new displacements were reported outside of Port-au-Prince, particularly in the central region of Haiti.

Meanwhile, the number of makeshift shelters increased from 142 in December to 238 since the start of the year, the IOM said.