Mental Health Crisis Grips Morocco: 425 Cases Spark Calls for Urgent National Action

The Network is alerting to the alarming extent of the mental health crisis in Morocco, which threatens public health and the safety of citizens. In an open letter addressed to the government, the RMDDS specifies that nearly 425 cases of mentally ill people were recorded in 2024, according to the available data. The concern is growing, says the organization, which recalls the tragedy that occurred on Friday, August 22, 2025 in Imouzzer, where a police officer on duty was stabbed to death by a homeless mentally ill person.

According to the Network, the main causes of this situation are the increase in poverty and unemployment among young people, the proliferation of drugs and psychoactive substances, and a shortage of human (psychiatrists and specialized nurses) and financial resources. Added to this is the dilapidated state of most of the kingdom’s hospitals and psychiatric centers, as well as their overcrowding, which does not allow for the proper care of the mentally ill. The organization also denounces the rise in the prices of psychiatric drugs, the unavailability of certain specialties in pharmacies and hospitals, the frequent interruption of treatments, and the exorbitant cost of services in private addiction treatment centers.

The RMDDS notes a lack of political will to reform the sector, pointing out that Dahir No. 1-59-295 promulgated in 1959 is obsolete and no longer meets current requirements in terms of psychiatry and human rights. It also deplores the withdrawal, in September 2023, of draft law No. 71.13 on the fight against mental disorders and the protection of the rights of persons affected. The Network also notes the absence of an integrated and multidimensional national policy to effectively combat this scourge and the social stigmatization of the sick, which leads them to vagrancy, violence, exclusion, and even suicide.

To put an end to this phenomenon, the Network calls for the implementation of an urgent and comprehensive action plan. Specifically, it invites the government to increase the budget dedicated to mental health, to proceed with a massive recruitment of psychiatrists and specialized nurses, as well as the creation of modern regional hospital centers and adapted structures for the reception and social reintegration of homeless mentally ill people. The RMDDS also calls on the authorities to strengthen the legal framework in order to guarantee the rights of the sick. Finally, it calls for a revision of the prices of drugs and basic services, and the organization of national awareness campaigns against the stigmatization of the sick.