Since the night of June 13-14, violence has intensified around the Isaïe Jeanty Maternity Hospital, supported by Doctors Without Borders (MSF), in Cité Soleil (Port-au-Prince).

Caught in the crossfire and facing an untenable situation, our teams have been forced to suspend their medical activities. Access to sexual and reproductive healthcare, already extremely limited in the region, is now virtually nonexistent. Thousands of people, especially women, can no longer receive safe treatment.

For the past five days, violent clashes between several armed groups have been taking place in the neighborhoods of Belekou, Fort-Dimanche, and Quai Jérémie. Gunfire continues to strike the walls of the Isaïe Jeanty Maternity Hospital in the Chancerelles neighborhood, causing population displacement and panic within the community.

On the evening of June 15, more than a hundred people, mainly women and children, fleeing the fighting, found refuge and access to water at the maternity hospital. One woman was wounded in the leg by a stray bullet on the hospital grounds and was treated by our teams on site. The MSF hospital in Tabarre also treated people injured in the clashes in the region.

Following a further escalation of fighting, the authorities were forced to suspend their activities the next morning. MSF continued to provide emergency care, stabilize patients, and refer them to other facilities for several days, but we were then forced to evacuate our staff and suspend all our activities on the morning of June 19.

"We have tried to provide a minimum level of lifesaving support to people with a reduced team and limited capacity," explains Nicolas Tessier, MSF Head of Mission in Haiti. "We treated several women who managed to reach the maternity hospital despite the insecurity, including one who gave birth to twins. But today we can no longer continue: the hospital is riddled with bullet holes, our teams are exhausted, and it has become extremely difficult for ambulances to refer patients and find facilities able to receive them."

In Cité Soleil, which has approximately 300,000 inhabitants, access to healthcare for women is virtually nonexistent. Many are forced to give birth at home in precarious conditions, which considerably increases the risk of obstetric complications.

The suspension of activities at the Isaïe Jeanty maternity hospital, due to this new wave of violence, further aggravates an already critical situation. Women now have practically no options left for receiving medical care.

MSF had already been forced to temporarily suspend its activities at its hospital in Cité Soleil, located a few kilometers from the maternity ward, in May. Faced with the continuing deterioration of the security situation, the entire health system in the area is threatened.

It is essential that armed groups respect civilians and that health facilities be protected at all costs so that medical teams can treat those in need.

HL/ HaitiLibre