Doctors Without Borders Suspends Operations in Haiti’s Capital Amid Police Threats
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has announced the suspension of its activities in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, due to a series of threats and violent incidents involving local police.
The organization, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières, cited repeated harassment, death threats, and rape threats against its staff, as well as attacks on its vehicles and facilities. The final straw came on November 11, when officers and vigilantes allegedly attacked an MSF ambulance, killing at least two patients.
“This series of incidents has left us with no choice but to suspend our activities in Port-au-Prince,” MSF said in a statement.
The suspension, effective Wednesday, will impact thousands of people relying on MSF’s five medical facilities in the capital. The organization provides:
– 1,100 outpatient services weekly
– Emergency care for 54 children weekly
– Support for over 80 survivors of sexual and gender-based violence monthly
MSF Head of Mission Christophe Garnier emphasized, “As MSF, we accept working in conditions of insecurity, but when even law enforcement becomes a direct threat, we have no choice but to suspend admissions of patients in Port-au-Prince until conditions are met for us to resume.”
Haiti has struggled with gang warfare, political turmoil, and lawlessness for years. Medical staff have reported break-ins by police, vigilantes, and rival gangs seeking wounded gang members in healthcare facilities.
