Doctors Without Borders closes its emergency centre in Haiti's capital due to surge of gang violence

The international medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said on Wednesday that ongoing violence in Haiti's capital has forced it to permanently close its Port-au-Prince emergency care centre, a key lifeline in a city now 90% controlled by criminal gangs.

More than 60% of the capital's health facilities, including Haiti’s general hospital, are now closed or non-functional because of the surge in gang violence.

The MSF emergency centre in the neighbourhood of Turgeau had temporarily closed in March after armed men opened fire on four of the organisation's vehicles that were evacuating staff. Some employees received minor injuries.

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

A man waits to be treated for a bullet wound at a Doctors Without Borders emergency room in the Cite Soleil neighbourhood of Port-au-Prince, 19 April, 2024 (A man waits to be treated for a bullet wound at a Doctors Without Borders emergency room in the Cite Soleil neighbourhood of Port-au-Prince, 19 April, 2024)

The emergency centre had originally opened in the Martissant neighbourhood in 2006 but was forced to move to Turgeau in 2021 for security reasons.

From 2021 to March 2025, the centre treated more than 100,000 patients.

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

Gang violence also has displaced a record 1.4 million people, a 36% increase since the end of 2024, the UN International Organisation for Migration (IOM) announced on Wednesday.

Almost two-thirds of the new displacements were reported outside Port-au-Prince, especially in Haiti's central region.

A protester sits on the bonnet of a car during a demonstration to demand government action against gang violence in Port-au-Prince, 20 February, 2025 (A protester sits on the bonnet of a car during a demonstration to demand government action against gang violence in Port-au-Prince, 20 February, 2025)

Meanwhile, makeshift shelters have increased from 142 in December to 238 so far this year, the IOM said.

Haiti has been plagued by worsening gang violence since the 2021 assassination of its then-President Jovenel Moïse.

Armed gangs now control most of Port-au-Prince and the arrival of a UN-backed multinational security force last June has had little impact so far.

More than 5,600 people were reported killed in Haiti last year, up 20% on 2023, according to data released by the UN Human Rights Office in January.