As violence and insecurity have forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes in Port-au-Prince, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has stepped up efforts in recent months to provide water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services to people living in makeshift camps across the city. Since fighting between armed groups and the government intensified in February 2024, many people have fled their homes, seeking refuge in overcrowded shelters.
More than 578,000 people are currently displaced in Haiti. More than 112,000 of them live in 96 informal sites in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, including schools, churches and sports fields. Many of these sites lack water and sanitation facilities, such as latrines. This leads to harsh and dangerous living conditions and increases the risk of water-borne diseases. As part of an emergency response, MSF has provided more than 4,500,000 litres of treated water in 15 sites. It has also trained site managers in water chlorination and hygiene, built or renovated nine latrines and nine emergency showers and distributed hygiene kits.
In areas where access to treated water and latrines is inadequate, MSF mobile clinics have treated hundreds of people for waterborne diseases, including acute watery diarrhoea and scabies, a hygiene-related skin condition. Cholera, which has emerged several times in Port-au-Prince since 2022, remains a significant threat in these conditions. However, the need for treated water and sanitation in displacement sites and neighbourhoods affected by violence far exceeds what MSF can provide.
“The camp opened on February 12. At first, we received 30 people, and three hours later, we had 1,354,” says Banatte Daniel, head of a site for displaced people set up in the ISBACOM school. “Despite MSF’s assistance, the conditions are very difficult. The international community must intervene and support these vulnerable people to avoid a bigger catastrophe.”
Marie-Ange, 52, a resident of a displaced persons camp, says finding water is a real struggle. “Sometimes the water we find causes skin problems, but we have no choice but to use it to wash ourselves and do laundry,” she said.
Efforts are underway to identify actors who could continue to provide water in the 15 sites served by MSF beyond 31 August, when MSF’s water and sanitation services are scheduled to end in these areas. “As an emergency medical organisation, we stepped in to fill gaps in water and sanitation services when the health situation became critical and no other major actors were able to respond,” says Sophie Mealier, MSF project manager. “Now that access to existing sites has improved, it is time for other actors to respond. For our part, we continue to focus on the most difficult-to-reach areas and on critical health needs.”
MSF staff point out that prolonged displacement brings other challenges.
“The majority of sites have significant water, sanitation and hygiene issues,” says Frenso Désir, MSF’s water and sanitation project supervisor. “For example, while MSF provides safe water and other services, sanitation remains a major challenge. Waste management is also a persistent problem, exacerbated by the control of armed groups over disposal sites.”
MSF is calling for more humanitarian assistance to meet the urgent needs of displaced communities. These needs include water, sanitation and hygiene services such as water trucking, rehabilitation of latrines and showers, distribution of hygiene kits and hygiene and health promotion. MSF is also urging stakeholders to allocate the necessary resources to ensure the safety and dignity of displaced people.
PRESS RELEASE
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