Moroccan Patients Flock to Ceuta for Cheaper Medicines, Report Finds

For Moroccan patients, Ceuta is "the merciful city", due to the low prices of medicines compared to those displayed in Moroccan pharmacies. According to Al Massae, the city has become the paradise of medicines, according to patients.

Moroccan patients regularly and mainly obtain medicines for hypertension, diabetes and respiratory problems, which is an increasingly important source of revenue for the Spanish enclave.

Among the most sought-after medicines, hesperidine, whose price for a box of 40 tablets is 3 euros compared to 11.50 euros in Morocco. Budesonide, used to treat respiratory problems, is sold at 8.12 euros in Ceuta against 16.50 euros. Procoralan, a treatment for angina, is sold in Morocco at 378 dirhams (35 €) for a box of 28 tablets, while the box of 56 costs 29 euros in Spain.

Several other treatments have been listed in the Spanish report, cited by the daily, whose prices are two to three times lower than the selling prices in Morocco. These medicines concern various chronic and severe pathologies.