On Tues., Jan. 12, 2010, at 4:53 p.m. local time, Haiti was hit by a magnitude 7.0 earthquake. It was the worst earthquake to hit the country in 200 years. Hundreds of thousands of people lost their lives or were injured. More than one million people were suddenly made homeless. Within a few hours of the disaster, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams already in the area were providing medical emergency aid.

Around the clock

MSF staff worked around the clock to provide care for the huge flow of injured people. Some flights were not allowed to land in Port-au-Prince, which made it difficult to bring in extra aid workers and equipment. Coordination of the airport was in the hands of the United Nations and the U.S. Ministry of Defense. Many aid workers flew to neighbouring Dominican Republic and travelled to Port-au-Prince by car. Fifty MSF staff left for Port-au-Prince from outside Haiti in the first eight days alone. An MSF logistical centre was set up in Dominican Republic.

First emergency phase

Many victims required emergency surgery. Temporary accommodation was set up for the aid projects, including in a school building. Maternité Solidarité, our emergency obstetric care hospital, was too damaged to use. MSF worked in an orthopedic, trauma and pediatric hospital and two outpatient departments. Teams also travelled around the affected areas with mobile clinics. They continued the provision of emergency obstetrical care at the government hospital of Isaïe Jeanty, and elsewhere distributed relief goods such as tents, blankets and plastic sheeting.

Prosthetic devices