Haiti’s already fragile healthcare system faced a pharmaceutical supply crisis in 2019 as disruptions to import logistics, currency depreciation, and the difficulties of distributing medicines in an environment of civil unrest converged to create shortages of essential medications across the country. Pharmacies in Port-au-Prince and provincial cities reported running out of commonly needed drugs, including antibiotics, antihypertensives, antiretrovirals, and medications for chronic conditions like diabetes.
Haiti imports the vast majority of its pharmaceutical supplies, making it extremely vulnerable to disruptions in the supply chain. The currency depreciation of 2019 had dramatically increased the cost of imported medicines in gourde terms, making them unaffordable for many patients and straining the budgets of health facilities that tried to maintain stock.
Distributing medicines to health facilities across the country was complicated by road blockades and the security concerns that made logistics operations difficult during protest periods. Some rural health facilities reported going weeks without resupply, forcing health workers to ration medications or turn patients away without treatment.
The pharmaceutical shortage disproportionately affected patients with chronic conditions who required continuous medication to manage their illness. For a diabetic patient who ran out of insulin, or a hypertension patient who could not access blood pressure medication, the shortage was a potentially life-threatening emergency. Health advocates called for medicines to be designated as humanitarian cargo and for supply chain disruptions to be treated as a public health emergency.