Haiti - FLASH : MSF forced to suspend its activities in the metropolitan area
In a note, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) informs that "[...] following serious threats made against its staff by members of the Haitian police force, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is forced to suspend its activities in Port-au-Prince until further notice. It should be recalled that on November 11, an MSF ambulance was attacked, leading to the execution of at least two patients and an assault on medical staff https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-43634-haiti-flash-police-and-a-group-of-citizens-stop-an-ambulance-and-execute-several-patients.html . The following week, police officers repeatedly stopped MSF vehicles and directly threatened staff, including death and rape threats. These repeated incidents have forced the organization to suspend all patient admissions and transfers to its 5 medical facilities in the Haitian capital as of 20 November 2024, as they are a manifestation of the direct targeting of MSF staff and patients in Haiti.
In Haiti and elsewhere, we are used to working in conditions of extreme insecurity, but when even law enforcement becomes a direct threat, we have no choice but to suspend our projects. All patient admissions in Port-au-Prince are suspended until the necessary conditions are met to resume our activities," said Christophe Garnier, MSF Head of Mission in Haiti. "Every day that our activities are suspended is a tragedy, as we are one of the few providers of many medical services that have remained open during this extremely difficult year. But we can no longer continue to operate in an environment where our staff are at risk of being attacked, raped or even killed.
[...] The suspension of activities concerns all medical services, with the exception of care for patients already hospitalized in its five medical facilities and mobile clinics in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince, who will continue to be managed by MSF. Maternal health activities in the south of the country, in Port-à-Piment, are also continuing.
We have been present in Haiti for more than 30 years, and it is with deep regret that we take this decision, at a time when health services have never been so limited for the Haitian population. We remain committed to the population, but we will only be able to resume admissions of new patients to our facilities in Port-au-Prince if we receive guarantees of security and respect for our medical and humanitarian mandate by armed groups, members of self-defense groups and law enforcement," added Christophe Garnier.
