PIH Statement on the June 2025 Travel Ban

Partners In Health unequivocally condemns the Trump administration’s June 4 travel ban, which names two countries in which PIH works, and demands its immediate withdrawal. Justifications for this proclamation are not only weak and discriminatory, but the consequences will be devastating for countless people around the world. This ban will prevent colleagues and friends from returning to work, reuniting with their families, and continuing their vital contributions to advancing health equity in some of the world’s most marginalized communities.

Founded in Haiti in 1987, Partners In Health has been the country’s largest non-governmental health care provider for decades. Our thousands of Haitian colleagues care for approximately one in ten Haitians, delivering life-saving treatments—from malnutrition interventions to chemotherapy—despite ongoing violence and political instability. This proclamation effectively punishes these efforts.

Since 2014, our work has extended to Sierra Leone, first to combat Ebola and now to strengthen the country’s health system. We support the only mental health hospital in the nation, the sole facility specializing in tuberculosis treatment, and pioneering programs that provide essential care to women and children, including the soon-to-open Maternal Center of Excellence at Koidu Government Hospital. Again, this proclamation seeks to undermine these critical initiatives.

Like previous travel bans, disparaging rhetoric about so-called “shithole countries,” the rollback of temporary protected statuses, the termination of essential foreign aid, and other harmful policies, the oppressive nature of this ban appears deliberate. In addition to demanding this ban’s reversal, we invite Secretary of State Rubio or any senior cabinet official to be our guests in Haiti or Sierra Leone—to meet the inspiring people they are excluding and witness the life-saving work they are jeopardizing.

—Dr. Sheila Davis, CEO of Partners In Health