Tabarre, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Following the January 2010 earthquake, the response by various actors often (and understandably) focused on primary rather than secondary health care. However, trauma injuries are one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality in Haiti.
Surgery capabilities are needed, as are permanent structures in which to carry them out. MSF thus decided to create a container health structure that would bridge the gap between the emergency response and the longer-term response and would provide a variety of essential surgery services in a site that could be used by the city.
In February 2012, MSF opened a 108-bed reference centre in Tabarre, Port-au-Prince, with the aim of turning it into a trauma surgical centre for the city able to carry out 150 surgeries a month. Traumatology, orthopedic, and visceral surgery will be provided, along with emergency pediatric surgery and patient rehabilitation.
This will allow a rapid response to the needs existing in the time interval between emergency response and long-term answer.