Morocco has made significant strides in reforming its healthcare system over the past few years, with a focus on universal healthcare coverage and social protection. The country has achieved notable structural gains, including increased financial investment and institutional reform, with 32 million people, or 88% of the population, registered in the healthcare system as of 2025. However, despite these advances, challenges persist in ensuring that citizens have equal access to quality healthcare.
Dr. Taieb Hamdi, a doctor and researcher in healthcare policies and systems, emphasizes that the success of healthcare reform should not be measured solely by the number of people registered in the healthcare system or the amount of investment, but rather by the tangible impact on citizens' daily lives. He notes that while significant progress has been made in terms of financial and institutional reform, there is still a need to distinguish between registration, effective activation of rights, and actual access to quality healthcare services.
The Moroccan government has increased healthcare spending from 19.7 billion dirhams in 2021 to 42.4 billion dirhams projected for 2026, representing a significant increase over five years. This investment has been accompanied by the establishment of new governance structures, including the High Health Authority, responsible for ensuring quality, evaluation, and continuous improvement of the healthcare system. Additionally, territorial health groups have been created to manage healthcare services closer to citizens.
Despite these advances, Dr. Hamdi highlights several challenges that need to be addressed, including a shortage of healthcare professionals, estimated at 30,000 doctors and over 60,000 other health professionals. Furthermore, the costs borne by patients remain a barrier to accessing healthcare, with 41.5% of Moroccans abandoning treatment due to economic reasons. This underscores that registration in the healthcare system does not necessarily translate to effective access to healthcare services.
Data on insurance compensation also reveals disparities in the distribution of benefits between the private and public sectors, with the private sector accounting for 91% of compensation and the public sector accounting for only 9%. This situation poses a challenge to strengthening the public hospital system and achieving a balanced healthcare system that provides accessible and quality services to all citizens.
To overcome these challenges, Dr. Hamdi emphasizes the need to focus on prevention and primary care, as well as strengthening the public hospital system and expanding the national healthcare system to include external services. He also stresses the importance of adopting a national prevention strategy and establishing a new governance framework that prioritizes transparency, accountability, and measurable results.
The goals of Morocco's healthcare reform, including ensuring universal access to healthcare, promoting equity and solidarity, and improving the quality and safety of healthcare services, remain to be achieved. The key challenge ahead is to translate the progress made on paper into tangible results that positively impact citizens' daily lives, ensuring that they have access to quality healthcare services that are close to them and affordable.
Key points
- Morocco's healthcare reform faces challenges in ensuring equal access to quality healthcare for all citizens, despite significant progress in terms of financial investment and institutional reform.
- The country needs to address shortages in healthcare professionals, high patient costs, and disparities in healthcare compensation between the private and public sectors.
- Strengthening prevention, primary care, and public hospitals, as well as adopting a new governance framework, are crucial to achieving Morocco's healthcare goals.
