Morocco’s COVID-19 Fund: 800 Million Dirhams Spent on Hospital Upgrades and Testing

The special coronavirus fund set up on the instructions of King Mohammed VI has made 2 billion dirhams available to the Ministry of Health. In total, 40% of this fund, or 800 MDH, have been spent. These 800 MDH have made it possible to fully equip 1,200 intensive care beds and increase the bed capacity in our public hospitals by more than 1,500, as well as the opening of new services and the equipment of 72 hospitals, detailed Belmadani.

Regarding PCR screening tests for the coronavirus, the Director of Planning and Financial Resources at the Ministry of Health, Abdelouahab Belmadani, indicated that Morocco was able to acquire 1.2 million tests. This acquisition has allowed the kingdom to exceed the bar of 10,000 tests per day.

Similarly, 2,000 serological tests to search for specific antibodies produced by the immune system in response to an infectious agent (virus, bacteria, etc.) and 1,100 kg of raw materials for the manufacture of chloroquine and 6 million hydroxychloroquine tablets were acquired. In total, 15 laboratories have been equipped in record time as well as a mobile laboratory and another one in preparation, added the official.

"We were able to meet all the urgent needs of our citizens. All citizens affected by the coronavirus have been taken care of according to the standards, and in the various hospital structures dedicated to this," said Belmadani, assuring that "thanks to all the efforts made, we could not witness protests by citizens for lack of respiratory equipment or beds in hospitals".