Alarming Rise in Suicide Rates Across Morocco, Human Rights Group Reports

In its 2022 report on the human rights situation in Morocco, the AMDH reveals that "according to reports from the World Health Organization, the number of suicides in Morocco exceeds a thousand cases per year, at a rate of more than three cases per day," noting that nearly half of these suicide deaths were recorded in the Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region. Given the situation, the State must "reconsider the mental health system in response to the recommendations of the World Health Organization," the report adds.

According to the association, 140 suicide deaths were revealed by the press in 2022, which does not reflect the reality. By region, there are 67 cases in Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima (48%), 18 in Souss-Massa (13%), 14 in Beni Mellal-Khenifra (10%), 12 in Marrakech-Safi (9%), 9 in Fez-Meknes (6%) and 7 cases respectively in Casablanca-Settat and Oriental (5%). Two cases were respectively noted in the Rabat-Salé-Kenitra and Guelmim-Noun regions (1.4%) and one each in Laâyoune-Saguía el-Hamra and Villa Cisneros-Río de Oro (0.7%).

The AMDH report also mentions deaths in prisons, hospitals, workplaces, etc. The document speaks of "18 deaths in police stations, the gendarmerie, prisons, either due to a sense of injustice or the intervention of the public forces; and 13 deaths in hospitals and health centers due to medical negligence, medical errors or poor hospital infrastructure".

The association also mentions "90 deaths due to work accidents, 16 deaths from scorpion stings, snake bites, dog bites and rabies, 49 deaths from suffocation due to gas leaks or fires, and 31 deaths from food poisoning and adulterated alcohol". As for deaths on the roads, their number reached 3,200 in 2022, according to official statistics, or about nine deaths per day.