Port-au-Prince - Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has been forced to permanently close our emergency centre in Turgeau due to increasing insecurity in the centre of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. We had to temporarily close the doors of this facility and suspend activities in March 2025 following a serious incident targeting MSF.

“For several weeks now, the area surrounding the centre of Port-au-Prince has been the scene of regular armed violence,” says Jean-Marc Biquet, MSF head of mission in Haiti. “If medical activities were to resume at this hospital, located in the immediate vicinity of these clashes, they would be severely compromised by the level of risk to patients and healthcare workers.”

“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,” he says.

We suspended activities at the Turgeau emergency centre in March 2025 following a serious security incident that endangered the lives of our staff. Since the suspension, several technical ballistic protection assessments have been conducted to identify suitable protection solutions, but no option has been able to guarantee a sufficient level of security to continue our activities.

“MSF deeply regrets this difficult decision, which was taken as a last resort,” says Biquet. “This closure has a significant impact on access to healthcare for a community already severely affected by violence, instability, and increasingly precarious living conditions.”

“However, we remain committed to providing care in Port-au-Prince, and our other activities in the city continue. We will continue exploring alternative avenues to provide the specialised care that was available at our Turgeau centre,” concludes Biquet.

It should be noted that before resuming medical activities in downtown Port-au-Prince and Carrefour, MSF is still awaiting the signing of a memorandum of understanding that would establish a safe pathway between Port-au-Prince and Carrefour. This step is considered crucial and is a prerequisite for restarting activities that have been suspended since March 2025. 

MSF deplores this situation and calls on all parties to respect humanitarian and medical work. Medical action must be able to take place in complete neutrality, in an area protected from violence, in order to continue to respond to the urgent needs of communities.