Haiti's Hospitals in Crisis

In Bel Air, a working-class neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, approximately 60 residents gathered at a makeshift clinic run by Doctors Without Borders (MSF). This facility, established in a school previously attacked by armed gangs, operates twice a week, providing essential medical services to a community largely abandoned by Haitian authorities. Healthcare professionals, identifiable by their MSF uniforms, reported treating around 30 patients daily, with common ailments including urinary tract infections, skin infections, and gunshot wounds. The clinic is one of several initiatives by MSF, which also deploys five mobile clinics to the most dangerous areas of the city. Despite the pervasive violence, gangs have allowed humanitarian workers to operate, recognizing the necessity of these medical services. However, the overall healthcare landscape in Port-au-Prince is dire, as many facilities have been looted or rendered inoperative due to escalating gang violence. UNICEF has highlighted the severity of the situation, noting that six out of ten hospitals in the capital are barely functional. The organization’s representative, Bruno Maes, warned that Haiti's health system is on the brink of collapse. The deteriorating conditions have forced healthcare professionals, like pediatrician Clertida Lamothe Cassamajor, to evacuate hospitals, leaving patients without critical care. As violence continues to disrupt daily life, the struggle for healthcare access in Port-au-Prince underscores the urgent need for stability and support in Haiti.