On 14 August 2021, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit Haiti's southern peninsula. The earthquake caused 2,200 deaths and more than 12,000 people have been injured. Nearly 53,000 houses were also destroyed. The earthquake further impacted on an already fragile health system: 90 health facilities were damaged or destroyed.

In the South department, MSF set up mobile clinics to ensure remote communities in affected areas could access healthcare, including mental health support. Since August, MSF teams have provided over 8,500 consultations through the mobile clinics.

“I left my family, my husband and my child behind to go and provide care to those who are furthest away, and who can be reached thanks to MSF's mobile clinics. Some of them tell us it is the first time they have had a mobile clinic or received healthcare at all. The pathologies we encounter most often are skin infections in adults and children, cases of diarrhea, especially related to the quality of the water that these populations use”, explains Valiola, MSF nurse.

Although the emergency phase is slowly coming to an end, there are still considerable longer-term needs, including in terms of reconstruction.