Haiti: MSF outraged by attack on its ambulance by law enforcement and execution of patients

The MSF personnel in the ambulance were violently attacked, insulted, tear-gassed, threatened with death, and held against their will for more than four hours before being allowed to leave. The MSF ambulance was damaged and left unable to drive, so the team departed in a second vehicle.

“This act is a shocking display of violence, both for the patients and for MSF medical personnel, and it seriously calls into question MSF’s ability to continue delivering essential care to the Haitian people, which is in dire need,” says Christophe Garnier, MSF head of mission. “Our teams and our patients need a minimum level of safety to continue providing medical care.”

MSF is a humanitarian organisation working in Haiti, to address the medical needs in basic healthcare, trauma care, and support survivors of sexual violence. We call on the authorities and all stakeholders to uphold the right to access medical care without discrimination or hindrance and to ensure the protection of patients, as well as respect for medical personnel and healthcare facilities in the face of increasing violence.