Health Ministry Rocked by New Fraud Allegations in Pharmaceutical Licensing

The Directorate of Pharmacy and Medicines at the Ministry of Health is facing a series of scandals. While it is the subject of a parliamentary inquiry, it is again shaken by suspicions of fraud. According to Al Massae, brokerage firms interfere in the allocation of licenses and marketing authorizations for medical products. They are responsible for receiving the files and in return receive commissions to get these files approved.

Generally, only hand-picked companies or those belonging to close associates of ministry officials are favored in the issuance of these precious permits. The union office affiliated with the Moroccan Labor Union (UMT) denounced "abusive dismissals" when the ministry had fired several executives from the Directorate of Pharmacy and Medicines.

In a statement, the in-house union accuses the Director of the DMP, Bouchra Meddah, of being the source of these dysfunctions. She is also incriminated for "mismanagement of executives", "abuse of power" and even for "moral harassment". According to the same statement, the union office had already denounced "dangerous dysfunctions such as the obstruction or suspension of the computer system storing data relating to medical provisions, cosmetic and personal hygiene products of the visa service, the homologation of these companies to write false complaints against certain executives since February 5, 2021".