Friday, October 17, 2025-Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières) has announced the permanent closure of its emergency trauma center in Port-au-Prince, citing the city’s worsening security crisis and unrelenting gang violence.
The facility, which treated tens of thousands of patients annually, had become one of the few remaining lifelines in a city crippled by lawlessness and political instability.
The organization said the decision came after repeated armed attacks, kidnappings of staff, and an overall breakdown of safe access to medical care — conditions it described as “untenable for humanitarian work.”
The news has devastated local communities and health advocates. Many Haitians have taken to social media to express grief and anger, calling the shutdown a symbol of their country’s deepening collapse.
International aid groups echoed those sentiments, warning that the loss of the center will leave thousands without life-saving care, especially victims of shootings, road accidents, and sexual violence. The move highlights how even neutral humanitarian organizations are struggling to operate amid Haiti’s spiraling anarchy.
Analysts fear the closure could accelerate a broader humanitarian catastrophe. With hospitals overwhelmed and public health systems barely functioning, the withdrawal of one of the most respected global medical NGOs underscores just how dire the situation has become.
Unless security improves and aid workers can safely return, Haiti risks sliding further into a state of ungoverned crisis where the sick and injured have nowhere left to turn.
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