[Disaster medicine: mission Haiti]. / Médecine de catastrophe: mission Haïti.

On January 12th, 2010, an earthquake of a magnitude of 7 on the Richter scale striked the southwest of Haiti, including the capital Port-au-Prince, and provoked immense human and material damages. Estimated number of victims is 300000 wounded, 230000 dead and 1000000 homeless. This disaster generated at once an immense and urgent need for sanitary resources. In this context, an emergency medical humanitarian mission was engaged by the Swiss Confederation (humanitarian aid depending on the Development and Cooperation Direction); this article describes this emergency mission, its progress, the committed staff and means, and the type of treated patients.