Overview:
After police tear-gassed last week scores of student protesters from the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy at the State University of Haiti (UEH) demanding the shuttered General Hospital reopens in a different location, they plan to march again July 1.
PORT-AU-PRINCE — Medical students in Haiti have announced a new march through the streets of the capital on July 1 to continue demanding the relocation of the State University Hospital of Haiti (HUEH), saying they have received no response from authorities following their June 22 demonstration in front of the Prime Minister’s Office.
“The government has not contacted us despite the fact that we submitted a letter addressed directly to the Prime Minister, in which we outlined all of our demands,” student Milot Exantus told The Haitian Times.
“Our next step is simply to maintain the mobilization in the streets until we obtain the relocation of all 13 departments of the General Hospital, so that we can receive proper clinical training and the population can also benefit from healthcare services.”
This new mobilization comes after dozens of students at the State University of Haiti (UEH) medical school were tear-gassed earlier this week while demanding that authorities reopen or relocate the State University Hospital of Haiti (HUEH), commonly known as the General Hospital.
The hospital, which plays a vital role in clinical training in Haiti, has been shuttered since 2024. Monday, the medical students took to the streets holding placards and chanting protest songs. Their destination was the entrance to the Prime Minister’s office in the Musseau area of Port-au-Prince, where they intended to submit their demands and express concerns over the closure of HUEH.
As they approached, police moved to disperse them by using tear gas.
“We had already sat down with them, but they did nothing,” said a protester, shouting as tear gas was being deployed. “Then, when we decided to march, they chose to use violence against us.”
“We are demanding healthcare services,” she added. “We are calling on all the authorities in the country to address the situation of the hospital. We have already talked with them too much.”
This new protest comes amid ongoing gang violence that has caused damage and disrupted the operations of more than 30 hospitals and healthcare centers. The General Hospital stopped operating in February 2024 following a gang attack that endangered the lives of healthcare professionals as well as patients. Gangs then used it as a base to carry out attacks against law enforcement before setting parts of it on fire a year later in February 2025. The fire damaged several sections, including radiology units, central archives, and operating rooms.
In December 2024, former Minister of Health Lorthe Bléma launched an initiative following the reopening of activities at the maternity hospital Isaïe Jeanty in Cité Soleil, aiming to reopen the General Hospital. The effort turned tragic, resulting in the deaths of several journalists and one police officer, while several others were injured during a gang offensive intended to derail the initiative.
“They say that a location has been identified and that everything was ready, but so far nothing has been done. We will remain in the streets until we get results.”
a student in a white coat, blocked by a police officer
The minister was subsequently dismissed following the incident. He was replaced by former senator Sinal Bertrand, who, since taking office, has repeatedly promised the relocation of the hospital. Faced with these promises, students from the State University decided to take action and protest, demanding concrete measures that would allow them to resume the training that had been involuntarily interrupted.
“They announce that they will relocate it, but those are just lies,” said a student in a white coat, blocked by a police officer on Bourdon Road. “They say that a location has been identified and that everything was ready, but so far nothing has been done. We will remain in the streets until we get results.”
Another student wearing a white coat, large sunglasses, and carrying a protest sign explained that they were on the streets to demand the reopening of the General Hospital because that is where they are supposed to complete their internships.
“It is also where the most vulnerable people can access healthcare. We are here to serve them, but unfortunately the government is not providing us with a space to serve these people,” he said to local media.
In November 2025, the Minister of Health had assured that everything was ready for the relocation of the hospital to a building rented by the state for 14 million gourdes per year. However, no conclusive decision had been made before he met, in March 2026, with students from the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy following a protest aimed at reviving the promises related to the hospital relocation project.
The last time the issue resurfaced was on May 7, when the Haitian Foundation for Health and Education (FHASE) denied the minister’s claims that an agreement had been reached with the foundation to transfer the HUEH to the premises of the Haitian Community Hospital (HCH). At the time, the foundation reminded that it is already bound by a valid operating contract with Hôpital Notre-Dame S.A. (HNDSA), which is already providing medical services there.
The minister has not mentioned this relocation plan again since that episode. The same was true on Monday, as no authority reacted to the students’ demonstration in the streets of Port-au-Prince. Neither the government as a whole nor the Ministry of Public Health and Population has, so far, issued a statement or announced any measures to allow the hospital to resume operations.
“We will turn this movement into a national movement because the cause is a national cause,” declared a protesting student.
In an article published in May 2025 by several doctors and medical students, they stated that, in addition to depriving the population of essential care, the abrupt closure of the HUEH is disrupting the training of future doctors, including those who demonstrated on Monday.
Each year, more than 500 students complete their clinical internships there, and since 2012, the hospital has treated over 200,000 patients annually. According to the authors, this situation is jeopardizing the very future of medical specialties in the country.
“HUEH, once a symbol of care and medical training, has become the very image of the collapse of an already fragile healthcare system, a victim of the instability and violence ravaging the country,” the authors said.
“From the moment we enter the Faculty, we begin our clinical training at the General Hospital and continue there until we complete our specialization,” Exantus told The Haitian Times. “The State Medical School and the General Hospital are like twins — one cannot exist without the other. Its relocation is imperative.”
The students’ movement also comes at a time when gang violence continues to have severe impacts on healthcare facilities. On June 23, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) announced in a statement the suspension of activities at the Isaïe Jeanty Maternity Hospital due to violent clashes between several armed groups that have been ongoing since June 13 in the neighborhoods of Belekou, Fort-Dimanche, and Wharf Jérémie.
MSF stated that it was forced to evacuate its staff and suspend operations on the morning of June 19. The organization also recalled that it had already been compelled to temporarily halt its activities in the municipality in May because of the deteriorating security situation.
“We tried to provide minimum lifesaving support to the population with a severely reduced team and limited capacity, but today the situation has become untenable,” said Nicholas Tessier, MSF Head of Mission in Haiti.
“The hospital walls are riddled with bullet holes, our teams are exhausted, and it has become too difficult for ambulances to transfer patients and find appropriate facilities to provide them with care.”
