Doctors Without Borders permanently closes its emergency centre in Haiti’s capital

Police officers patrol an intersection in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Doctors Without Borders said Wednesday that ongoing violence in the capital of Haiti has forced it to permanently close its Port-au-Prince emergency care centre, which had been a key lifeline in a city now 90 per cent controlled by gangs.

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

The Doctors Without Borders emergency centre in the neighbourhood of Turgeau had temporarily closed in March 2025 after armed men opened fire on four of the organization’s vehicles that were evacuating staff from the center. 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 head of mission in Haiti.

Before the attack in March, staff at the emergency centre had treated more than 300 patients between Feb. 24 and March 2. In February alone, the centre reported more than 2,500 medical consultations.

The emergency centre had originally opened in the Port-au-Prince neighborhood of Martissant in 2006, but was forced to move to Turgeau in 2021 for security reasons. From 2021 to March 2025, the Turgeau emergency 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 U.N. International Organization for Migration announced Wednesday. Almost two-thirds of the new displacements were reported outside Port-au-Prince, especially in Haiti’s central region.

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