Port-au-Prince: One of Haiti’s most vital hospitals has been forced to shut its doors due to growing insecurity, following recent gang assaults in Mirebalais, according to Reuters, citing and internal memo. The closure marks another major setback for the country’s already strained healthcare system.
According to Deputy Executive Director Pierre-Marie Cherenfant, the University Hospital of Mirebalais effectively ceased operations in early April, when it began evacuating patients to other facilities. Located about 55 kilometers (34 miles) from Port-au-Prince, the hospital has long been a critical referral center, offering specialized treatment for complex illnesses including COVID-19 and cancer.
Established over a decade ago by the non-profit organization Partners in Health, the hospital housed 300 beds and typically served around 850 patients daily from across Haiti.
The closure followed attacks by the powerful Viv Ansanm gang coalition, which began targeting Mirebalais in late March. These attacks included a large-scale prison break that saw roughly 500 inmates escape, significantly intensifying the local security crisis.
The international humanitarian group Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) has also suspended operations in the Port-au-Prince area until at least the end of June, citing a recent targeted shooting of one of its vehicles.
Violence has surged in the early months of 2025, with armed gangs expanding their reach amid weakened national security forces and limited international intervention. Tens of thousands of Haitians have been displaced.
As of last October, the United Nations reported that fewer than 25% of health facilities in and around the capital remained functional. On Monday, U.N. special representative Maria Isabel Salvador warned the Security Council that without stable and adequate funding, even the U.N.'s basic operations in Haiti may no longer be sustainable.
