Morocco to step up medical training
2007-08-06
The World Health Organisation has listed Morocco among 57 countries with an acute shortage of healthcare professionals. To overcome the shortage, the country has launched a new programme to train 3,300 doctors annually by 2020 instead of the current 900.
By Sarah Touahri for Magharebia in Rabat – 06/08/2007
 [Sarah Touahri] Healthcare provision is particularly inadequate in rural areas |
Morocco plans to overcome a shortage of healthcare professionals by providing training to 3,300 doctors annually by 2020 instead of the current figure of 900 per year. The initiative, to be launched at the beginning of the 2008/2009 academic year, will see 1,300 new students enrolling in schools of medicine and pharmacy.
Prime Minister Driss Jettou presided over the signature of an agreement Wednesday (August 1st) between the Ministries of Health, Education and Finance at the headquarters of the Rabat Faculty of Medicine, to increase the number of doctors from 5.1 to 10 per 10,000 inhabitants by 2020 and to improve the distribution of healthcare services throughout the country.
In a press statement, Education Minister Habib El Malki said the government had acted on the basis of an assessment of national healthcare services. "We realised that there were large gaps in provision, so we had to take another look at training in medical and pharmacy schools. This initiative is part of an effort to train and develop human resources to support the country's rapid economic and social development."
Human and financial resources are already in place to ensure the scheme will be a success. According to the Health Ministry, academic institutions will receive all the funding they need to recruit teaching staff, update training courses and upgrade hospitals and laboratories.
Healthcare professionals, who have emphasised the need in recent years to pay more attention to the planning and management of human resources in the sector, welcomed the announcement of the new strategy. Dr. Mohamed Cherqui told Magharebia it will help meet current needs for healthcare services, free medical care and compulsory healthcare insurance. "With the rising demand for healthcare services, it's high time we thought about training more doctors in Morocco. People working in the sector have been sounding the alarm for a long time now."
According to the World Health Organisation, Morocco is among 57 countries with an acute shortage of healthcare professionals.
In addition to the shortage, the Ministry of Health is attempting to tackle the uneven distribution of doctors across the country. According to official statistics, of the 16,000 doctors currently working in the public and private sectors, almost half are based in Rabat or Casablanca. This means that the average ratio of doctors to patients is much worse in many other regions. The cities and regions of Casablanca and Rabat, for example, have over 7,000 doctors while the Taza-Al Hoceima-Taounate region has only 400.
Rural areas are in need of more doctors, particularly specialists, who are often unwilling to work in the country's more remote healthcare centres. According to Cherqui, in order to address this problem the government needs to encourage young doctors to move to rural areas by offering incentives.
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moha Posted 2007-08-06
What about equipment, an x-ray must be taken within 500 km ,what doctors can provide without a healthy equipments .some doctors urged to buy the necessary equipments for their hospital to save people’s life also the public have to contribute financially to keep this health care system going ., more equipped ambulances are needed in all major urban cities and towns ,mountain areas .during snows storms and road accidents , helicopters are needed otherwise call Cuba for help.
mohaa Posted 2007-08-07
if they refuse to serve rural areas because these doctors came from rich families as we know should be sent to irak to taste freedom ,stupid doctors or must be suspended ,they paid no cent to the governement to get this degree as doctors and now they choose where to work.first treat your selves doctors before treat somebody .
dr mehdi Posted 2007-08-07
Specialized doctors would not refuse to go into the enclaves if the government would accord them they bare minimum of what is necessary to practice their vocation in good conditions. What we are seeing now is that the surgeons have been sent to hospitals without operation wards and scanning devices where they can do nothing but give consultations and, in the end, forget everything they have learned.
salman Posted 2007-08-07
Good article. In addition to the doctors, I think the paramedic corps should be reviewed- unqualified, unmotivated personnel that are sometimes even untrained. 'Catastrophe' is the exact term (public and private) -Thank you
Dr.Mohamed Posted 2007-08-10
Educating new doctors in order to fix this problem is a great goal. Moreover, it is necessary to create new positions for already educated doctors, some of which have been unemployed for over two years thanks to the entrance exams.
Ameziane Posted 2007-08-11
It is time for Morocco to look forward without forgetting about health, education, communication, justice and developing on the right track. It must teach sincerity, fidelity, honesty and repentance toward the right road without bakchich, in order to allow us to get our 10 million hoped-for tourists. The customs must be filtered and cleaned as soon as possible. The police and the drivers need to be re-educated so that they are respectful and courteous. Our conduct needs to change to not give out driving licences left and right in driving schools. –Thank you
asmaa Posted 2007-09-20
How can we educate more doctors when doctors now are unemployed!? This is serious: our Ministers don’t know a thing about what’s going on in Morocco.
medecinsmaroc Posted 2007-09-26
I think the government's policy in educating 3000 doctors a year is a good initiative in response to the needs of the population, but it also needs to be recognized that there are already hundreds of unemployed doctors. (followed by several exclamation points.) For example, according to the figures given by the Health Minister on July 21, 2007, 485 doctors registered as candidates for employment for only 200 positions. Therein, there is a discrepancy: why are we speaking about a shortage when, after many years of study, there are doctors going unemployed? I hope that this situation will change.
fatima ezahra Posted 2007-11-05
I wish you more success.
dr rachid Posted 2007-11-20
Mr Mohaa: The average amount of time it takes to earn a baccalaureate is 13 years (8 years + 5 years). It will be another 13 years to for medical studies and residency.
wahiba Posted 2007-12-31
I would like to know if someone with a 9.60 average in the high school baccalaureate and a 16 in the second baccalaureate can go into medicine.
dr. chomeur Posted 2008-02-15
Educating an additional 3300 people a year just to become unemployed! What a thieving country. Enough of your dreams! Have a little shame!
نوال Posted 2008-03-07
I ask anyone who knows a doctor that performs stomach reductions in Morocco to contact me. If anyone knows a doctor please contact me. Salaam.
mariam Posted 2008-07-06
I am just a student, but I would like to be a doctor in the future. Please, give me some advice. Thank you in advance
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