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Dr. Christophe Millien: World Humanitarian Day
August 19th is recognized by the United Nations as World Humanitarian Day. This year’s powerful theme, #NoMatterWhat: Humanitarians Deliver, emphasizes the unwavering commitment and perseverance of humanitarian workers who provide critical assistance to vulnerable populations regardless of the difficulties they face. It highlights the dedication, courage, and ingenuity of these brave individuals who work tirelessly under challenging and often dangerous circumstances to deliver lifesaving aid and support to those in need.
The story of one such medical humanitarian is that of IGCS Member, Dr. Christophe Millien, an OB/GYN and Chief Medical Officer at the Partners in Health/Zanmi Lasante Hospital in Mirebalais, Haiti.
Since 2017 and the withdrawal of UN troops, the situation in the Caribbean nation of Haiti has fallen apart. A series of political protests, economic collapse, and the yet-unsolved assassination of the president of Haiti turned out only to be the beginning. Increasingly the country has been taken over by armed criminal gangs, who kidnap, steal, and murder with almost impunity. Their attacks on the international airport in Port-au-Prince have recently caused the closure of both the airport and the port. Large portions of the country are cut off due to gang control of roads.
This situation has decimated the country’s medical system. Doctors are the frequent target of kidnapping and murder. Patients risk their lives to come to the hospital. Numerous shortages of gasoline and electricity, as well as the inability to import medical supplies to the country, have made hospital administration an almost impossible challenge. Most of Haiti’s hospitals have long since closed. Many doctors have left Haiti, choosing to immigrate to the USA or Canada to protect themselves and their families.
At the time of this writing, the Partners in Health/Zanmi Lasante hospital in Mirebalais, Haiti, built by Dr. Paul Farmer, remains open. It is the last respite of desperate patients who have literally nowhere else to turn. Dr. Christophe Millien, an OBGYN, is that hospital’s Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Millien has sent his wife and three young children to safety in Canada, choosing to remain at his hospital to continue to serve his patients. Dr. Millien is responsible for administering a hospital that frequently lacks electricity and, increasingly, basic medical supplies, which have had to be brought to the hospital by helicopter or motorcycle. Dr. Millien’s car has been shot at, and he has been the subject of numerous personal threats to his safety. Since the closure of the international airport, he has been unable to see his family. Yet Dr. Millien remains.
Although he is trained as a generalist OBGYN, Dr. Millien lives in a country without GYN-oncologists, so he has taken it upon himself to seek out the training he needs to serve patients with GYN cancers. In addition to his numerous pressing administrative responsibilities keeping the hospital open amidst the crisis, each week Dr. Millien holds his GYN cancer clinic. Every Friday, he goes to the OR to operate on patients, often with ovarian cancer, because he is one of the very few providers who is capable of doing so. He continues to advocate for these patients through publications and research. Dr. Millien could choose to immigrate to Canada to be with his family, but he instead stays on the ground, risking his safety, and caring for some of the most vulnerable patients in the world, and making sure the hospital’s doors stay open.
Dr. Millen said, “I stay in Haiti for many reasons but the most important are: 1. Many patients have come to the hospital with cervical cancer, vulvar cancer, ovarian cancer since its opening in 2013. I said we should do something for them. I started providing care with the knowledge of my oncology gynecology reading and operating on them without formal training. While I was a student at Harvard from 2018-2020, I spoke to my beloved Prof. and mentor, Dr. Paul Farmer about my desire for gynecologic oncology surgical training and asked him to help me to observe surgery at Brigham Women’s Health. Paul connected me with the team there, but unfortunately it was not possible. I then spoke with Lori at Dana Farber Cancer Institute who connected me with Prof. Thomas Randall at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). We made plans for me to work with Tom at MGH for 3 months, but the COVID-19 pandemic took the opportunity away. Tom continued to support me with his team, and we connected through virtual tumor board sessions every Friday morning and through the IGCS fellowship program. I am incredibly grateful for the IGCS, Tom, Rebecca, Nathalie, Alex, Lori, Sarah, Scott, Dayo, and also Mary and Susan from IGCS, the PIH, ZL, HUM leadership and team. 2. I feel accountable to this population without help who paid for my training and it's a source of motivation for me to continue to help them.”
Dr. Millien is part of a global network of doctors through the International Gynecologic Cancer Society. A society of cancer care professionals working in all regions of the world under various circumstances. All striving for excellence in the care they provide and working towards a world where every woman-—wherever and under whatever circumstance she might live—is able to attain her maximum achievable health outcomes.
Are you a medical humanitarian who works with gynecologic cancer patients? Contact us at igcs@igcs.org for the chance to share your story on the IGCS website. Tell us how and why you were called to serve those in need and your story may inspire others to respond when they get the call.
