PIH Statement on the December 2025 Travel Ban

PIH Statement on the December 2025 Travel Ban

Partners In Health unequivocally condemns the Trump administration's decisions to expand and amend its travel ban. We demand its immediate withdrawal.

First announced in June 2025, the ban included three countries in which PIH works. Haiti and Malawi faced full entry restrictions and Sierra Leone saw partial restrictions. As of December 17, 2025, Sierra Leone has moved to the full restrictions list, joining Haiti, Malawi, and a growing number of nearly 40 countries. Justifications for this third proclamation are not only weak and discriminatory but will continue to result in devastating consequences for countless people around the world. The expansion of this ban will further 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.

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 Maternal Center of Excellence at Koidu Government Hospital, which will welcome its first patients in the new year. Again, this proclamation seeks to undermine these critical initiatives.

Like previous travel bans and other harmful policies, this ban is deliberately oppressive. In addition to demanding this ban's reversal, we again invite Secretary of State Rubio or any senior cabinet official to be our guests in Haiti, Malawi, 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