Washington, D.C., February 21, 2025 — As part of its continued and intensified efforts to address the acute health needs of Haitians amidst the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the country, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) sent 7.7 tons of critical medicines and health supplies from its Regional Strategic Reserve in Panama to Haiti this week.
Access to healthcare services in Haiti remain extremely limited due to escalating violence, with only 10% of health facilities nationwide fully operational. Over the past year, the growing insecurity and instability have disrupted the supply chain and impacted the availability of essential drugs and health supplies needed to sustain operations of public health facilities. Port and airport operations have also been impacted leading to significant challenges for international suppliers and partners wishing to send vital supplies, including vaccines, to Haiti.
To address this, PAHO coordinated an emergency shipment of 17 orders of medical supplies, including temperature-sensitive, refrigerated, and frozen items, which arrived in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on 20 February 2025.
The shipped items include a wide range of essential medications to support emergency care, surgical procedures, maternal and neonatal health, and the management of chronic non-communicable diseases. Additionally, antibiotics, antimalarial treatments, and several critical vaccines—including those for Polio, Rabies, Pneumococcus, and Rotavirus—were sent to help recover vaccination rates in the country. Vaccination coverage in Haiti has declined across all vaccines due to the deteriorating security situation in 2024, which has severely disrupted immunization efforts. The recently delivered supplies will help replenish vaccine stocks and support current efforts to reach unvaccinated children and mitigate the risk of vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks. The shipment also included laboratory supplies to support and enhance disease surveillance in a context of continued cholera transmission.
“The shortage of medicines in Haiti severely impacts the capacity of health facilities to remain operational.” Dr. Oscar Barreneche, PAHO/WHO Representative to Haiti said. “These supplies will help us respond to the acute demand for essential medicines and medical supplies and support the continued provision of lifesaving medical care to Haitian communities in need of health assistance.”
PAHO’s emergency response efforts were made possible thanks to the generous vaccine donation from the Brazil Cooperation Agency (ABC), the financial contributions of the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), the European Commission (ECHO) and GAVI, and the operational support and coordination with the Haiti Logistics Cluster, the United Nations Humanitarian Response Depot (UNHRD), and the United Nations World Food Program (WFP).
PAHO remains committed to supporting Haiti in this time of extreme need and continues to work tirelessly with health authorities, healthcare providers and its humanitarian health partners to ensure the timely and safe delivery of lifesaving health assistance.
Oscar Reyes
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