Published on October 15, 2025 • 1-minute read
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Police officers patrol an intersection in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Tuesday, September 30, 2025. Photo by Odelyn Joseph / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Doctors Without Borders announced on Wednesday that the escalating violence in Haiti’s capital has compelled the organization to permanently shut down its emergency care center in Port-au-Prince, which had served as a crucial resource in a city now largely dominated by gangs.
More than 60% of the health facilities in the capital, including the general hospital, are currently closed or non-operational due to the rise in gang-related violence.
The Doctors Without Borders emergency center in the Turgeau neighborhood had temporarily ceased operations in March 2025 after armed assailants fired upon four of the organization’s vehicles that were evacuating staff. Some personnel sustained minor injuries.
“The building has been struck multiple times by stray bullets due to its proximity to conflict zones, making it too perilous to resume operations for both patients and staff,” stated Jean-Marc Biquet, head of the MSF mission in Haiti.
Prior to the March incident, the emergency center had treated over 300 patients between February 24 and March 2. In February alone, the facility reported more than 2,500 medical consultations. Originally established in the Martissant neighborhood in 2006, the center relocated to Turgeau in 2021 for safety reasons. From 2021 until March 2025, the Turgeau center provided care to over 100,000 patients.
According to the United Nations, from January to June, more than 3,100 people were reported killed across Haiti, with an additional 1,100 injured.
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