https://haitiantimes.com/2023/02/27/doctors-group-in-haiti-appeals-for-respect-after-threatening-incidents/
PORT-AU-PRINCE — A spate of incidents is jeopardizing the ability of Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF/DWB) to provide medical care to thousands of Haitians without putting staff and patient lives at risk, the group said Feb. 24.
“These repeated obstacles to our teams in Port-au-Prince to transfer patients from one hospital to another, these violent intrusions into our medical facilities and the crossfire that we face at the doors of our healthcare facilities seriously threaten the continuity of our activities,” Mahaman Bachard Iro, coordinator of the group’s Haiti mission, said in a statement.
“We ask all parties to respect our medical mission, as MSF remains one of the last international organizations to still deliver care in the Haitian capital,” Iro said.
One day before the statement was issued, armed bandits wearing hoods unsuccessfully attempted to enter the MSF/DWB hospital in Tabarre, the latest in a series of incidents over the past month. Rio said unidentified people pointed their guns at the staff and banged on the door before attempting to climb the wall to enter the hospital compound.
On Feb. 22, police officers blocked the entrances and exits of Turgeau to search an MSF ambulance. The medical organization said officers also demanded that MSF/DWB verify the identity of all registered patients. On Feb. 7, an ambulance clearly marked MSF/DWB was stopped and searched for more than 45 minutes before it was allowed to resume its journey. Weapons were pointed at the passengers and their identifications were checked.
In 2022, MSF/DWB also faced various criminal acts that forced it to close or halt care in many facilities around the capital, as have other health facilities that closed their doors for safety.
In April 2022, MSF/DWB temporarily closed the hospital in Drouillard. In August 2021, MSF/DWB facility in Martissant closed following ongoing demonstrations over two dead bodies left in the neighborhood led to road blockades. In January 2023, it also closed MSF/DWB suspended support for the Raoul Pierre Louis hospital in Carrefour for security reasons.
MSF/DWB said despite the risks, it reiterated its commitment to Haitians.
“In this difficult context, the entire Haitian health system is on the verge of collapse, as many health structures can no longer function properly. MSF reiterates its commitment to the Haitian people, the main victims of the violence that has torn the country apart for years,” the statement said.
Non-governmental organizations like MSF/DWB play a key role in providing medical care as Haiti’s government is unable to provide adequate healthcare to its 11 million people.
MSF/DWB said with its emergency care capabilities, it has performed more than 4,600 surgeries, provided 34,200 emergency consultations and 17,800 consultations in mobile clinics, treated 2,600 gunshot wounds and 370 burn victims, cared for 2,300 victims of sexual violence, and assisted 700 birth deliveries across its centers.
Since the first case of cholera resurfacing was reported in late September 2022, MSF/DWB has treated more than 19,000 people with the disease.
PORT-AU-PRINCE — A spate of incidents is jeopardizing the ability of Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF/DWB) to provide medical care to thousands of Haitians without putting staff and patient lives at risk, the group said Feb. 24.
“These repeated obstacles to our teams in Port-au-Prince to transfer patients from one hospital to another, these violent intrusions into our medical facilities and the crossfire that we face at the doors of our healthcare facilities seriously threaten the continuity of our activities,” Mahaman Bachard Iro, coordinator of the group’s Haiti mission, said in a statement.
“We ask all parties to respect our medical mission, as MSF remains one of the last international organizations to still deliver care in the Haitian capital,” Iro said.
One day before the statement was issued, armed bandits wearing hoods unsuccessfully attempted to enter the MSF/DWB hospital in Tabarre, the latest in a series of incidents over the past month. Rio said unidentified people pointed their guns at the staff and banged on the door before attempting to climb the wall to enter the hospital compound.
On Feb. 22, police officers blocked the entrances and exits of Turgeau to search an MSF ambulance. The medical organization said officers also demanded that MSF/DWB verify the identity of all registered patients. On Feb. 7, an ambulance clearly marked MSF/DWB was stopped and searched for more than 45 minutes before it was allowed to resume its journey. Weapons were pointed at the passengers and their identifications were checked.
In 2022, MSF/DWB also faced various criminal acts that forced it to close or halt care in many facilities around the capital, as have other health facilities that closed their doors for safety.
In April 2022, MSF/DWB temporarily closed the hospital in Drouillard. In August 2021, MSF/DWB facility in Martissant closed following ongoing demonstrations over two dead bodies left in the neighborhood led to road blockades. In January 2023, it also closed MSF/DWB suspended support for the Raoul Pierre Louis hospital in Carrefour for security reasons.
MSF/DWB said despite the risks, it reiterated its commitment to Haitians.
“In this difficult context, the entire Haitian health system is on the verge of collapse, as many health structures can no longer function properly. MSF reiterates its commitment to the Haitian people, the main victims of the violence that has torn the country apart for years,” the statement said.
Non-governmental organizations like MSF/DWB play a key role in providing medical care as Haiti’s government is unable to provide adequate healthcare to its 11 million people.
MSF/DWB said with its emergency care capabilities, it has performed more than 4,600 surgeries, provided 34,200 emergency consultations and 17,800 consultations in mobile clinics, treated 2,600 gunshot wounds and 370 burn victims, cared for 2,300 victims of sexual violence, and assisted 700 birth deliveries across its centers.
Since the first case of cholera resurfacing was reported in late September 2022, MSF/DWB has treated more than 19,000 people with the disease.