EU Backs Morocco’s Push for Universal Health Coverage Post-COVID

This event is part of the adoption of the joint communication of the European Union (EU) which aims to relaunch and strengthen its strategic partnership with its partners in the southern neighborhood, reports Hespress.

According to the site, it is a platform for exchanges on the reforms of the social protection system post-Covid-19, more particularly the health coverage component within the framework of the Morocco-EU cooperation, and in which experts and institutional representatives will discuss their actions.

PCNS Senior Fellow Nouzha Chekrouni said the meeting aims to "create a space to intensify dialogue, have analytical density and to involve both experts and academic researchers, in order to avoid the difficulties experienced by other countries."

"It is an important royal project for all Moroccans," she added, stressing that "we have Moroccan expertise and know-how that we want to further strengthen [...] to have an impact on the target populations."

This round table saw the intervention of several personalities, namely the Ambassador of the European Union to Morocco, Claudia Wiedey, the former Minister of Health, Anass Doukkali and the Director of the National Fund for Social Welfare Organizations (CNOPS), Abdelaaziz Adnane.

Among the challenges Morocco will have to face is the accelerated aging of the population, the sustainability of this regime in the face of social and demographic changes, and the consideration of another reality, that of the prevalence of chronic debilitating diseases in Morocco, the panel of experts said.

Regarding the implementation of the project to generalize health coverage in Morocco, Claudia Wiedey estimated that it will certainly be different than in Europe but that the advantage Morocco has is that it can benefit from the experiences of European countries.

"Here, in my opinion, we have an advantage, Morocco can, if it wishes, benefit from the best knowledge and expertise we have (within the member countries), and of course we remain committed with a fairly broad program," she concluded.