Residents demand reopening of Haiti’s main hospital after police takeover from gangs 

PORT-AU-PRINCE — Residents in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, applauded this week the Haitian police forces for regaining control of Haiti’s largest hospital— the State University Hospital of Haiti (HUEH, its French acronym), also known as the general hospital. However, they are now urging prompt actions from the authorities to swiftly make the hospital operational again, following its interruption in February when a gang attack forced patients and staff to abandon the medical facility and flee for their safety.

The new director general of the Haitian National Police, Rameau Normil, communicated the information on the vital police operation during a joint press conference on July 7 with the Kenyan commander of the Multinational Support and Security (MSS) mission in Haiti, Gotfrey Otunge. According to Normil, the operation was carried out by elite units of the Haitian police.

“Regaining control of the space is good, but other measures should be taken to bring the space back to life,” Djeve Milien, a resident of Clercine—near the Toussaint Louverture International Airport,  told The Haitian Times during an interview by telephone.

Milien, who lives in the gang-ravaged area, said it was time for residents to be able to return to the area of this public hospital, which serves the country’s most economically disadvantaged people. She added that after the PNH officers’ operation against the bandits, authorities from the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP) must act as quickly as possible to facilitate the resumption of medical activities at the hospital.

“In the situation we are in today, with every step the PNH takes, we must applaud them,” said Joseph Nicolas, echoing Millien’s sentiment. “However, this is not enough. Despite this news, the areas surrounding the hospital are still not accessible,” he added.

Nicolas, who lives in the gang-ravaged area of the Cul-de-Sac Plain—La Plaine, also said he was waiting for the authorities to take the next step to get the hospital up and running again. He added that while it is essential to assess and fix the damages caused by gangs, the government authorities should also establish several checkpoints and parameters to prevent possible gang attacks on the hospital in the future and restore confidence in medical personnel.

“Regaining control of the space is good, but other measures should be taken to bring the space back to life.”

Djeve Milien, a Port-au-Prince Resident

The Haitian Times has contacted the director general of HUEH, Dr. Jude Milcé, for comments on the news and steps for resuming service at the hospital. He has yet to respond.

Hospitals have not been spared from gang violence

Since April, gangs have controlled the general hospital and surrounding areas, such as Rue Enterrement and Portail Léogâne. They made the hospital facility a strategic position to attack their main targets, which were the National Palace and other government buildings nearby. To assert their power, they also looted and set fire to dozens of pharmacies on Rue St Honoré, alongside the hospital. Since they failed to storm the National Palace, they had made its areas a war zone where traffic became inaccessible.

Insecurity has enormous impacts on the country’s health system. With the escalation of gang violence on February 29, more than 30 medical centers and hospitals, public and private, closed their doors due to acts of vandalism, looting or because they are located in unsafe areas, reported the MSPP’s Western Health Directorate ((DSO) in April.

In addition, about a hundred others spread across the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince and West Department, notably in La Gonâve, Arcahaie, Croix-des-Bouquets, Léogâne, and Petit-Goâve, have been operating at a slow pace due to problems related to critical stock shortages and medication supplies, energy and forced staff absenteeism, exacerbating the country’s healthcare crisis.

“The majority of functional healthcare institutions are obliged to limit their services to emergencies, traumatic and non-traumatic and assistance with labor,” reported the DOS. “The effects and impact on morbidity and mortality in the country in general, and in the Metropolitan Area of Port-au-Prince in particular, are the most negative.”

Restoring a secured environment: The CPT and Haiti’s Prime Minister reassure Haitians 

The new transitional government, led by Garry Conille, recently installed Normil as the PNH’s new director general as part of its urgent response to gang violence and broader efforts to restore sociopolitical stability in Haiti.

After taking control of the hospital, Normil announced during the conference, without giving a date, that major police operations against the gangs would soon begin. He promised the police would do everything to put the bandits out of harm’s way. However, he recognized that the police institution needs to reassert its presence in approximately seven municipalities in the West department.

To reassure the Haitian people, Conille, accompanied by Normil and one of the Transitional Presidential Council’s (CPT, its French acronym) members,  Louis Gérald Gilles, visited the general hospital on July 9. Gilles and Conille invited Haitians to be patient while reminding them that the hospital was not a war zone. The Prime Minister recalled, “The hospital is an institution of public good that belongs to all Haitians.”

The next day, following the visit of the government officials, the sound of a flurry of automatic gunfires was heard within the vicinity of the hospital, suggesting an attempt by the gangs to reconquer it.

However, “This hospital is a space for vulnerable people to seek treatment,” Conille said.  “It’s not a conflict or confrontation zone. It should not be a war space, and we do not accept that.”

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Residents demand reopening of Haiti’s main hospital after police takeover from gangs  was first posted on July 12, 2024 at 12:03 pm.