Haiti health system nears collapse as medicine dwindles, gangs attack hospitals and ports stay shut

Life-saving medication and equipment is dwindling or altogether absent at hospitals and clinics across Haiti's capital as brutal gangs tighten their grip on Port-au-Prince and beyond. They have blocked roads, forced the closure of the main international airport in early March and paralyzed operations at the country’s largest seaport, where containers filled with key supplies remain stuck. Dr. Rachel Lavigne of Doctors Without Borders says that “everything is crashing.” Haiti’s health system has long been fragile, but it’s now nearing total collapse after gangs launched coordinated attacks on Feb. 29, targeting critical state infrastructure in the capital and beyond.