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Haiti
Health Overview
Key Health Risks
Health Risk Callout
Other Health Risks
Regional Information
Vaccine and Malaria Prevention
- Risk Level: Moderate
- Areas: All areas; highest in southern departments; peaks after rainy seasons
- Recommended Drug: Atovaquone-proguanil; chloroquine; doxycycline; mefloquine; tafenoquine
- Drug Resistance: No
Haiti has chloroquine-sensitive P. falciparum — one of last remaining exceptions globally. Chloroquine 500mg base weekly legitimate.
Physician Note
I do not recommend travel here currently. Haiti is Level 4 with terrorist-designated gangs controlling most of Port-au-Prince, a State of Emergency since March 2024, and a health system that has functionally collapsed — only one of the capital's three major hospitals is operating. What follows is for the humanitarian and organizational personnel who deploy anyway.
The 2026 clinical headline is diphtheria. PAHO's June alert attributed 159 of the 163 confirmed cases in the Americas this year — and all five deaths — to Haiti, with adults over 20 the single largest affected group and diphtheria antitoxin in global shortage. That makes a Tdap booster within the last ten years the priority vaccine, not an afterthought. Cholera is substantially reduced from last year but still circulating, so Vaxchora stays on the list; rabies burden is the highest in the Americas and post-exposure prophylaxis is unlikely to be available, so pre-exposure vaccination is essential for field workers; and Haiti remains one of the last places on earth with chloroquine-sensitive falciparum malaria — weekly chloroquine is still a legitimate regimen here.
Plan evacuation before arrival, not after. The FAA prohibition on US flights to Port-au-Prince runs through September 3, 2026 — extraction from the capital means charter, routed to Santo Domingo or San Juan — while six regional airports, including Cap-Haïtien and Les Cayes, retain limited commercial service. Reaching them from Port-au-Prince by road crosses gang territory, which is its own answer.
Pre-Departure Checklist
8+ Weeks
- DO NOT TRAVEL — Haiti is Level 4. Gang-designated terrorist organizations control Port-au-Prince, an FAA prohibition bars US flights to Port-au-Prince, and over 60% of the capital's health facilities are closed or non-functioning. The first question is whether this trip should happen at all
- If proceeding under an organization: confirm Tdap within 10 years — this is the priority vaccine for Haiti, since adults over 20 are the largest affected group in the current diphtheria outbreak and diphtheria antitoxin is in global shortage
- Cholera vaccine (Vaxchora)
- Rabies pre-exposure — Haiti has the highest rabies burden in the Americas and post-exposure prophylaxis is unlikely to be available
- Hepatitis A and B
- Typhoid
- Malaria prophylaxis — chloroquine remains effective here, one of the last such exceptions globally
- Confirm kidnap-and-ransom and hostile-environment insurance
- Ensure will and power of attorney are current.
2-4 Weeks
- Charter medevac arrangements — the FAA prohibition means commercial evacuation from the capital is not available; routing is to Santo Domingo or San Juan
- Verify current status of Hôpital Bernard Mevs before relying on it; capacity is reduced following the December 2024 attack
- Complete medication supply from home — do not count on local pharmacy access
- Water purification capability
- Establish a proof-of-life protocol and daily organizational check-in schedule
- Register with STEP.
Day Of
- US Embassy Port-au-Prince +(509) 2229-8000
- Ambulance 116; fire 115; police 122 — response may be delayed or unavailable
- Do not travel by road without a security assessment — gang roadblocks are lethal
- Do not identify as American; kidnapping specifically targets Haitian-Americans
- Maintain organizational check-ins.
Trip Type Guidance
No trip types appropriate. Even authorized humanitarian personnel face extreme risk.
