Haiti: 90% of Port-au-Prince under gang control
Thursday, October 16th 2025 – 07:40 UTC
MSF’s mission has been deemed untenable. Photo: MSF
According to the latest reports from Haiti, 90% of the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince, is under the control of the criminal gangs operating in the area. In addition, the severe humanitarian and security crisis amid escalating violence, mass displacement, and the near collapse of the healthcare system was found to be worsening.
From January to June of this year, over 3,100 people were killed, and at least 1,100 were injured. Last year, over 5,600 people were killed. The deployment of a UN-backed multinational security force has yet to bring about a change in the situation.
A record 1.4 million people are now internally displaced, a 36% increase since the end of 2024. The conflict has spread beyond the capital, with two-thirds of new displacements recorded outside Port-au-Prince, primarily in the Center and Artibonite departments, which were previously deemed safe.
Women and children account for more than half of the displaced persons, with most lacking access to basic necessities like drinking water and medical care. The International Organization for Migration (IOM), a UN agency, noted that makeshift shelters have increased from 142 in December to 238 so far in 2025.
In this scenario, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) was forced to permanently close its essential emergency center in Port-au-Prince, which had treated over 100,000 patients since 2021. MSF staff and vehicles were fired upon by armed men in March. The continued proximity to combat zones made safe operation untenable, it was explained.
Additionally, over 60% of health facilities in Port-au-Prince, including the general hospital, are either closed or not functioning due to the violence. Haiti has the highest maternal and infant mortality rates in Latin America and the Caribbean. Maternal deaths in hospitals increased from 250 to 350 per 100,000 live births between 2022 and 2025. Nearly 60% of births in the West Department (including Port-au-Prince) now occur without medical care.
In March this year, the MSF emergency center was temporarily closed after armed men fired on four of the organization’s vehicles that were evacuating staff from the site. Some employees were injured by the gunfire. The building has been hit several times by stray bullets due to its location near combat zones, which would make resuming activities very dangerous for both patients and staff, said Jean-Marc Biquet, MSF’s head of mission in Haiti.
MSF is jointly supporting the Ministry of Health in the gradual reopening of the Isaïe Jeanty maternity hospital—one of the country’s largest—which had ceased operations in early 2024.