Overview:
In the lead-up to International Midwives Day, the Haitian Midwives Association organized a mobile clinic to assist displaced women in Port-au-Prince, offering gynecological care, prenatal checkups and psychological support. The initiative not only addressed urgent health needs amidst collapsing healthcare services and rising gang-fueled insecurity but also underscored the essential yet overlooked role of midwives in the country, where maternal health is in crisis and over a million people have been displaced by gang violence— the majority are women.
PORT-AU-PRINCE — Standing quietly in front of the table of medical supplies in the crowded yard of Quisqueya Chapel in Delmas 75, Emanique Monpremier receives sachets of medication from a staff member of the Haitian Midwives Association (ASFH, per its French acronym). On her left hand, a cast bears witness to the pain of a fracture she sustained while living in a refugee camp after fleeing her home, which was set on fire by gangs in Onaville, a locality in the Cul-de-Sac plain— a few miles northeast of downtown Port-au-Prince.
“The pain is intense, and I often can’t sleep,” says Monpremier, 41, a mother of two. “My medication had run out. Things got worse when my husband also had an accident. I have to manage everything for my children, even with this arm.”
Monpremier is one of many women from various age groups who received free medical consultations during a mobile clinic organized by the ASFH on Saturday, May 3. Amid a collapsing health system, the ASFH midwives, who typically assist women in labor, provided essential care to some of Haiti’s most vulnerable women, not just those who are pregnant.
“This activity is very important to me because the medical care we received today for free could cost us a lot of money elsewhere.”
Ludgmie Fils-Aimé, a displaced woman
Like many others displaced by gang violence, her children are no longer in school. She survives thanks to aid from non-governmental organizations, associations like ASFH, and a few good Samaritans. She also faces the constant threat of disease as she endures rain, mud and insects in the camp’s unsanitary conditions.
“I’m living in terrible conditions here. We can’t find food, and the rain is our biggest problem because we sleep on cardboard,” Monpremier told The Haitian Times, calling for financial support to rent a place and start a small business.
“I’m really sad that I can’t continue to support my boys’ education. They’re suffering a lot by my side,” she added.
The majority of individuals displaced by gang violence are women, accounting for 55% of the total. By the end of 2024, Haiti had approximately 1,041,000 internally displaced persons, with 87% residing in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince, according to an OIM report. This represents a significant deterioration, as the number of displaced individuals has tripled in just one year, increasing from 315,000 in December 2023 to over one million.
In addition, between January and December 2024, a total of 6,488 cases of gender-based violence (GBV) were reported by service providers within the GBV Sub-Cluster, according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). As 2025 enters its first quarter, women like Monpremier continue to flee their homes, particularly from Kenscoff, Delmas 30, Mirebalais and Saut-d’Eau.
Midwives provide care as Haiti’s health system struggles amid insecurity
It is in such an insecure context—where each woman carries a heartbreaking yet familiar story—that the Haitian Midwives Association welcomed them on Saturday, May 3, at the Quisqueya Chapel’s courtyard, an inter-denominational church located in the Delmas district. Even when financial aid isn’t available, the association strives to comfort these displaced women by providing medical assistance—a service that has become increasingly rare due to the closure and looting of more than 30 hospitals across the country. This situation has made access to healthcare extremely difficult.
Founded in 2004, the association decided this year to bring these women together for a day of dedicated medical consultations. Gynecological exams, prenatal checkups, care for mothers and their babies, cervical cancer screening, psychological support for survivors of gender-based violence, and medication to ease their suffering were all part of the services offered.
Unsurprisingly, they arrived in large numbers. Gathered in the chapel courtyard, they had been waiting since 8 a.m., hoping to find some relief for their pain—and that of their children.
“We want to mark International Midwives Day by offering free healthcare services, given the current situation in the country where access to sexual, reproductive, and maternal health has become increasingly limited,” said Jeffthanie Mathurin, communication officer for ASFH.
“We know the problems are many, but it was important to meet with these women, to let them know that midwives are thinking of them and that we are ready to help however we can,” she added.
This year, the association organized a mobile clinic instead of hosting a day of reflection on the midwifery profession. However, this is not its first initiative of this kind. It has already provided healthcare services in numerous Port-au-Prince camps, including Maïs Gaté, Bourdon and Clercine.
The initiative was greatly appreciated by the displaced women, especially by Ludgmie Fils-Aimé, who came specifically for a gynecological consultation.
“I’m very happy about this event, and I feel seen in the support given to us, women,” said Fils-Aimé. “This activity is very important to me because the medical care we received today for free could cost us a lot of money elsewhere.”
Fils-Aimé fled her home in Delmas 18 before gangs took control of the area. She now lives without her husband and with her young daughter in a refugee camp set up at the République d’Équateur school. Like Monpremier, life in the camp is extremely difficult for her. Surviving away from home remains a daily struggle.
“I’m living in terrible conditions here. We can’t find food, and the rain is our biggest problem because we sleep on cardboard.”
Emanique Monpremier, a 41-year-old displaced mother
“I can’t say I’m living well, because I wasn’t in this deplorable situation before,” says Fils-Aimé, hurrying into the consultation room.
Midwifery is a relatively obscure profession in Haiti
Beyond its life-saving medical contribution, this initiative highlights the crucial role of midwives in Haiti, a country facing a maternal health crisis.
According to Mathurin, there are only around 250 midwives across the country. Until recently, only two institutions offered training in this field. The National School for Midwives and Nurses (ENISF), founded in 1977, has since closed, leaving the National Higher Institute for Midwifery Training (INSFSF), which opened in 2011, as the only active institution to offer training and education in the field.
It was only in 2021 that the profession was officially integrated into the State University of Haiti (UEH) through the creation of the Faculty of Midwifery, which offers a decentralized training program across three sites in the West, North and South departments. In Port-au-Prince, no new recruitment is currently possible due to the school’s facilities having been burned down by gangs. The program now operates from the premises of a local association.
“We want to mark International Midwives Day by offering free healthcare services, as access to sexual, reproductive, and maternal health has become increasingly limited in the current situation in the country.”
Jeffthanie Mathurin of the Association of Midwives of Haiti
“Unfortunately, the profession remains largely unknown in Haiti, despite its global importance in sexual and reproductive health,” laments Mathurin. “We are often mistaken for fanm chay [traditional birth attendant, typically a woman, who assists with childbirth in the home] or nurses.”
“We focus on the physiological aspects of childbirth, and what sets us apart from the fanm chay is that we have received scientific training officially recognized by the state,” she adds, advocating for collaboration between certified midwives and fanm chay, who assist women in provincial towns giving birth without formal training.