Doctors Without Borders, the internationally respected medical charity known as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), has permanently closed its emergency health center in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, after months of escalating violence rendered the facility—and much of the city—too dangerous for patients and staff alike. The decision, announced on October 15, 2025, marks a grim milestone in a city now estimated to be 90% controlled by criminal gangs, according to multiple reports from the Associated Press, Reuters, and MSF itself.
The center, located in the Turgeau neighborhood, had been a crucial lifeline for thousands of Haitians. It originally opened in Martissant in 2006 but was forced to relocate to Turgeau in 2021 as security in the city deteriorated. From 2021 until March 2025, the Turgeau center treated more than 100,000 patients, delivering emergency care in a city where medical options have been steadily shrinking due to violence and instability.
“For several weeks now, the area surrounding the center of Port-au-Prince has been the scene of regular armed violence,” said Jean-Marc Biquet, MSF’s head of mission in Haiti, in a statement quoted by MSF and news agencies. “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.”
The final straw came in March 2025, when armed men opened fire on four MSF vehicles evacuating staff from the Turgeau center. Some employees received minor injuries, but the incident underscored the mounting risks. The center was temporarily closed following the attack and has not reopened since. MSF conducted several ballistic protection assessments, but none could guarantee a sufficient level of security for medical teams or patients. “MSF deeply regrets this difficult decision, which was taken as a last resort,” Biquet said. “This closure has a significant impact on access to healthcare for people already severely affected by violence, instability, and increasingly precarious living conditions.”
The scale of Haiti’s health crisis is staggering. More than 60% of the capital’s health facilities, including Haiti’s general hospital, are now shuttered or non-functioning due to the surge in gang violence, according to the United Nations and MSF. The closure of the Turgeau emergency center further limits options for the city’s residents, many of whom are already struggling to survive in the face of daily violence, displacement, and poverty. Between January and June 2025 alone, MSF treated over 2,000 victims of violence and more than 2,000 survivors of sexual violence in its Port-au-Prince facilities, as reported by MSF International.
The roots of the crisis stretch back years. The assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021 plunged Haiti into deeper political chaos, and armed gangs have steadily expanded their control since then. According to the UN, over 16,000 people have been killed in armed violence in Haiti since the start of 2022. The first half of 2025 saw more than 3,100 deaths and 1,100 injuries, and 2024 alone recorded over 5,600 killings—a 20% increase from the previous year. The violence has also driven a massive displacement crisis: 1.4 million people have been forced from their homes, a 36% jump since late 2024, with makeshift shelters across the country rising from 142 in December 2024 to 238 by October 2025, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported.
The Turgeau emergency center was more than just a building; it was a symbol of hope in a city where hope is in short supply. In February 2025 alone, the center reported more than 2,500 medical consultations, and between February 24 and March 2 of that year, staff treated over 300 patients—many suffering from gunshot wounds, trauma, and other violence-related injuries. The center’s closure, coupled with the suspension of operations at MSF’s Carrefour hospital, leaves a dangerous gap in emergency care for Port-au-Prince’s most vulnerable residents.
The risks to humanitarian workers have become unbearable. “The building has already been hit several times by stray bullets due to its location close to the combat zones,” Biquet reiterated. “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.”
Despite the closure, MSF insists it is not abandoning Haiti. The organization continues to operate other facilities in Port-au-Prince, including the Tabarre hospital, the Cité Soleil emergency center, the Pran Men’m clinic, and primary health care services in Delmas 4, Bel Air, Bas Bel Air/La Saline, as well as the recently reopened Isaïe Jeanty maternity hospital in partnership with Haiti’s Ministry of Health and Population. “We remain fully committed and are actively exploring all alternatives to maintain our medical support in Port-au-Prince and Carrefour with MSF’s current health activities and to see if others can be considered,” Biquet said.
However, restarting any suspended activities in downtown Port-au-Prince and Carrefour depends on securing a memorandum of understanding to establish a humanitarian corridor between the two areas. This step, MSF says, is crucial for the safe passage of medical teams and supplies. The charity has called on all parties to respect humanitarian and medical work, emphasizing that medical action must be able to take place in complete neutrality and safety to address the urgent needs of at-risk communities.
The closure has provoked widespread concern among international observers, aid organizations, and local residents. With more than half of Haiti’s population now in need of humanitarian aid, according to the United Nations, the loss of one of the city’s last major emergency centers is a devastating blow. The arrival of a UN-backed multinational security force in June 2025 has, so far, done little to stem the tide of violence or restore basic order, leaving many to wonder what comes next for a city—and a nation—on the brink.
As Haiti’s crisis deepens, the international community faces urgent questions about how to protect civilians, ensure access to medical care, and restore some measure of safety and dignity to a people besieged by violence. For now, the closure of the Turgeau emergency center stands as a stark reminder of the human cost of insecurity—and the resilience of those determined to help, even in the darkest of times.
