The article details the tragic aftermath of a fire that devastated the Hôpital Bernard Mévé in California, Haiti. The hospital was built and funded by the United States Agency for International Development in 2007, in response to conditions that led to Hurricane Katrina’s devastation of New Orleans hospitals. The hospital’s machinery was state-of-the-art for Haiti, but it struggled to cope with a shortage of staff and equipment, leaving it underfunded and understaffed. Despite these challenges, the hospital provided life-saving care to the 500,000 people within its catchment area. When the hospital burned down in January 2025, killing up to two dozen patients and all of its employees, it was a loss felt keenly by the community. The article reflects on the failures that led to the disaster and questions whether the United States is finally learning from its mistakes in international development.
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