PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, CMC – The non-government group, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), mentioned Friday that because the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, sinks deeper right into a disaster marked by violent clashes between armed teams and police forces, there was a rise within the variety of civilian casualties arriving at its amenities.
MSF, often known as Docs with out Borders, mentioned that whereas practically two in 5 Haitians are in pressing want of medical care as a consequence of widespread insecurity and violence, 60 to 80 per cent of Port-au-Prince’s well being amenities are closed or non-functional for a similar causes.
It mentioned that between January and June 2025, MSF groups assisted 2,600 victims and survivors of sexual violence, admitted 13,300 sufferers to emergency rooms, and handled 2,267 victims of violence.
Amongst these, 26 per cent have been minors, in comparison with 11 per cent in 2024, with MSF stating that almost all minors have been below the age of 15, and one third have been women. Thirty per cent of all minors admitted for violence-related accidents suffered gunshot wounds.
“These figures mirror the alarming deterioration of the scenario in Haiti, the place civilians, together with girls and kids, are more and more uncovered to hazard day-after-day,” says Mumuza Muhindo Musubaho, MSF head of mission in Haiti, including, “civilians have to be spared by the events to this battle”.
MSF mentioned that on September 20, at the very least 17 wounded individuals have been handled on the MSF hospital in Drouillard following a drone assault carried out the identical day within the Cité Soleil neighbourhood.
Amongst these sufferers have been two males who have been already useless on arrival, and one other man who died whereas being transferred, 10 girls – one among whom died en path to MSF’s trauma hospital in Tabarre – and three kids who tragically didn’t survive their accidents. Two extra girls injured on this assault died on the close by Isaïe Jeanty maternity hospital, the place MSF can also be working.
“This violence is going on within the context of a territorial battle, with communities immediately on the frontlines, trapped between the specter of explosive drones and the brutal violence of armed teams that loot and burn properties, destroy neighbourhoods, terrorise communities, and more and more use sexual violence as a weapon of management, punishment, and extortion,” MSF mentioned.
It mentioned on common, about 18 per cent of sufferers adopted by MSF’s common healthcare venture in neighbourhoods managed by armed teams report that they keep away from utilizing public transportation to achieve medical amenities outdoors these areas, fearing they is likely to be focused.
MSF mentioned that the restricted motion of residents, mixed with the widespread closure of hospitals since 2024 as a consequence of armed assaults, looting, the exodus of medical employees, and difficulties in supplying medicines, has drastically diminished and centralised the supply of healthcare, leaving a big share of individuals with out entry to very important providers.
It mentioned that this example additionally locations excessive stress on the amenities that stay operational, notably MSF’s trauma hospital in Tabarre, which has elevated its mattress capability by 50 per cent, with 26 per cent of trauma circumstances linked to violence.
Just one main public hospital stays operational within the capital, Hôpital universitaire de la Paix, and it’s usually overwhelmed.
“This devastating context fuels a profound sense of abandonment amongst Haitians. And, it have to be mentioned, the extreme decline in healthcare availability – a disaster inside the disaster – additionally leaves the few remaining humanitarian and medical actors with the impression of being overwhelmed by ever-growing wants,” Musubaho mentioned.
MSF mentioned it stays totally dedicated to supporting the individuals of Haiti and is working intently with the Ministry of Public Well being and Inhabitants, including “civilians, healthcare staff, and medical amenities have to be protected”.
