On Sunday, Agadir saw widespread protests outside the Hassan II Regional Hospital over what demonstrators denounced as «deteriorating health conditions». In response, Minister of Health and Social Protection Amine Tahraoui visited the facility on Tuesday morning, dismissing the regional health director of Souss-Massa and the provincial delegate of Agadir Ida-Outanane. Following the protests held last Sunday in Agadir over the deteriorating conditions at Hassan II Regional Hospital, the Minister of Health and Social Protection, Amine Tahraoui, has dismissed the regional health director of Souss-Massa, Lamia Chakiri, and the provincial delegate of Agadir Ida Outanane, Khalid Rifi. The decision was announced after the minister's visit to the hospital on Tuesday morning. The move comes in the wake of inspection reports and demonstrations staged by hundreds of citizens outside the hospital, on Sunday, denouncing the worsening health situation, marked by severe shortages of medical staff and equipment, as well as reported deaths among pregnant women. Abdelaziz Sallami, president of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH) in Agadir, told Yabiladi that the protest, which he described as a «popular movement», erupted because «the people of Agadir and the southern provinces were fed up with the situation». He stressed that Hassan II Hospital is the only facility available to a vast number of citizens, especially the most vulnerable. Residents, he explained, «took to the streets on Sunday to demand better health services and the provision of essential medical staff and equipment». Shortages, Equipment gaps, and long delays Responding to the minister's reaction to the demonstrations, and his attention to the case of the young girl carried by her uncle during the protest, Sallami underlined that access to healthcare is «an inherent right guaranteed by the constitution». He insisted that «the health crisis cannot be solved with polite gestures; it requires lasting and serious solutions, particularly given that many other cases like this girl are in urgent need of care». «This response cannot be considered a temporary initiative from the minister; rather, it is an inherent right guaranteeing citizens treatment in dignified conditions. Hassan II Hospital suffers from significant infrastructure weaknesses, a shortage of medical staff and equipment, in addition to treatment appointments given to patients after long and unacceptable delays, where the patient might die before their turn comes». Sallami also condemned the way authorities handled the demonstrations, noting that «instead of responding to the fairness and legitimacy of these demands, the authorities surrounded the protests with an overwhelming security presence», even though «the demonstrations unfolded peacefully». The Moroccan Human Rights Space voiced a similar stance, expressing «great concern and discontent» over «the prevention and violence by security forces in Agadir on Sunday, September 14, 2025, against citizens protesting the poor health services in public hospitals in the Souss-Massa region». The association argued that such actions violate the right to peaceful protest, freedom of expression, and the right to health, rights enshrined in both the Moroccan constitution and international conventions. The group also denounced the state of healthcare in the Souss-Massa region more broadly, saying it «fails to provide services in a way that upholds citizens' human dignity». Meanwhile, the uncle of the young girl, nicknamed the «Agadir girl» after her photo went viral on social media, confirmed that King Mohammed VI had personally ordered her treatment. He explained that Minister Amine Tahraoui called him directly to deliver the royal instructions, assuring that the ministry would cover the medical expenses of his three-month-old niece, who suffers from spina bifida, a congenital spinal deformity.
