- Doctors Without Borders convoy targeted by gangs during staff evacuation
- Turgeau Emergency Center closes for second time in four months
- Gangs control 85% of Port-au-Prince, displacing 1 million residents
The latest attack on medical personnel highlights Haiti’s spiraling security crisis. On Monday, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) announced the temporary closure of its Turgeau Emergency Center after armed groups opened fire on four vehicles evacuating staff. While no fatalities occurred, multiple staff members sustained minor injuries. Benoit Vasseur, MSF’s Haiti mission head, stressed the organization’s commitment to reopening but emphasized that safety guarantees remain elusive.
This incident follows a broader pattern of healthcare collapse in the Caribbean nation. With gangs now controlling 85% of the capital, only three major hospitals remain operational. The UN reports over 5,600 homicides in 2023 alone, coupled with a staggering one million internally displaced persons. Medical facilities have become both targets and casualties of territorial battles, leaving vulnerable populations without critical care.
A regional analysis reveals parallels to El Salvador’s 2019–2022 gang siege of hospitals. Like Haiti, Salvadoran medical teams developed emergency protocols including armored ambulances and decentralized care units. However, Haiti’s lack of centralized authority complicates such adaptations. MSF’s decision to pause operations underscores the lethal intersection of urban warfare and public health failure.
Industry experts identify three critical ramifications: First, the weaponization of healthcare access accelerates civilian mortality in conflict zones. Second, evacuation procedures – even when coordinated with authorities – offer no guarantee of safety. Third, prolonged hospital closures trigger secondary crises, including unchecked infectious diseases and untreated chronic conditions. With Port-au-Prince’s last functional trauma center now shuttered, Haiti faces a humanitarian inflection point.
