An update from the Former Head of Mission in Haiti
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Friend,
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) was recently forced to scale down our work in one area of Port-au-Prince due to an alarming escalation of violence in the Haitian capital.
Last month, violent clashes just meters from our hospital in Cité Soleil forced us to temporarily close the facility. This comes on the heels of our decision to temporarily suspend support for the Raoul Pierre Louis hospital back in January, when armed men broke into our facilities and murdered an injured patient.
As the former head of mission in Haiti, I want to make clear that the safety of our staff and patients is our highest priority. While violence continues to surge in Haiti’s capital city, we’re still working to treat as many people as possible at other hospitals and clinics around Port-au-Prince.
Despite the temporary closure of our hospital in Cité Soleil, MSF teams remain committed to assisting sick and injured people in need of medical care.
Innocent people are being caught in the crossfire of ongoing violence. Our teams have seen dramatic surges in patients at our emergency center in Turgeau, about 10 kilometers from Cité Soleil. In fact, in recent days, MSF teams have admitted up to 10 times the usual number of patients with gunshot wounds.
In Haiti’s capital city—although we've scaled back some—our teams continue to assist patients with gunshot wounds and other serious injuries such as burns. We’re also filling critical gaps in the healthcare system by providing care for pregnant women, children, the elderly, and survivors of sexual violence.
Our steadfast donor community allows us to continue to be a lifeline in Port-au-Prince, even amid the direst of circumstances. MSF has proudly provided medical humanitarian care in Haiti for more than 30 years. And we continue to call for fighting around our hospitals to cease so medical activities can resume and patients can access care.
This email was sent from the U.S. section of Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), an international independent medical humanitarian organization that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural and man-made disasters, and exclusion from health care.
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