Medical students in Haiti march to demand reopening of main public hospital as police open fire

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PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Dozens of medical students organized a protest on Wednesday to demand that the government relocate and reopen one of Haiti’s largest public hospitals, noting they need to train there to become doctors.

Donning white coats, the students marched peacefully from their university headquarters in downtown Port-au-Prince to the outskirts of the prime minister’s office, where anti-riot police blocked the road to prevent them from advancing.

During the protest, an Associated Press journalist observed a uniformed policeman fire into the air to disperse the crowd as the car he was driving tried to get through. As he lowered his weapon, he fired it one more time, hitting a student in the arm.

“We are not armed!” the students yelled at the officer as they attacked his vehicle with rocks, breaking several windows.

“Not only did the police use tear gas on us, the police fired live bullets at us,” said Esdras Paul, president of the council of the faculty of medicine. “We have students who are actual victims who are being cared for. We condemn this because we are holding peaceful demonstrations.”

Gang violence forced the government to close the University Hospital of Haiti in 2024. More commonly known as the General Hospital, it remained closed for months until the government tried to reopen it on Christmas Eve that year.

Journalists gathered to cover the reopening, but suspected gang members opened fire, killing two reporters and injuring seven others. A police officer also was killed.

Johnson “Izo” André, considered Haiti’s most powerful gang leader and part of the Viv Ansanm gang coalition that controls an estimated 70% of Port-au-Prince, claimed responsibility for the attack. He said in a video posted on social media at the time that the gang coalition had not authorized the hospital’s reopening.

Days later, the government removed the country’s health minister from his post. The hospital has remained closed since then.

Medical student Jean Pierre said the prime minister “needs to hear that the work we do is for the people in Haiti.”

In February 2025, gangs set fire to the General Hospital. Its closure has strained the resources of a handful of other health institutions that remain open, with an estimated 70% of public health facilities shuttered last year because of gang violence, depriving an estimated 4.4 million people of health care.

Medical students protested peacefully last week for the same reason, with police firing tear gas to break up the march.