Closure of the University Hospital in Mirebalais
30. April 2025
Since early April, the city of Mirebalais in the upper Artibonite has been increasingly targeted by gang attacks. For security reasons, the local hospital was forced to close its doors just a few days ago.
With more than 300 beds, this university hospital is one of the most important in Haiti – and for many years, it has been a close partner of HAS.
In the wake of the closure, large numbers of patients, the injured, and even medical staff were evacuated to HAS, which was already operating beyond capacity. To meet this urgent need, the cholera center originally built during the epidemic has been quickly repurposed to provide care. Here, the newly arrived patients are receiving essential treatment. Yet, supplies of oxygen, emergency equipment, and medicines are running low, and once again the hospital is being tested by the need for logistical improvisation.
Amid this crisis, conversations with our colleagues at HAS show both the strain and the resilience of the community: staff members are stretched to their limits, while local residents of Deschapelles have joined forces to support the police in protecting the hospital against gang violence.
We are staying in close contact with our team on the ground and the leadership in Port-au-Prince, and we continue to provide support in every way possible from afar.
30.04.2025