Rapid and safe access to medical care must be guaranteed in Port au Prince

On Tuesday, 3 September 2024, a Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) ambulance carrying a patient in critical condition was stopped by police in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital city which has been the site of ongoing fighting between gangs and police. The ambulance was detained and this prevented our team from providing the patient onboard with necessary care.

The patient was suffering from an open fracture and in urgent need of hospitalisation. Held for more than an hour, the patient died before reaching a hospital.

“We denounce this serious obstruction of our medical mission,” says Sophie Mealier, MSF’s head of mission. “As an organisation committed to providing free care to the people of Haiti without discrimination and according to the principles of medical ethics, MSF calls on all armed parties in Haiti to respect our medical teams and guarantee patients rapid and safe access to medical care.”

Unjustified blockages of humanitarian movements put lives at risk and are unacceptable.