Morocco’s COVID-19 Surge: Equipment Shortages and Staff Deficits Hinder Containment Efforts

The drastic measures put in place by Morocco at the beginning of the crisis had seduced internationally. Some countries had even requested its expertise to win this epidemic battle. More than seven months after the discovery of the first case of Covid-19, the Kingdom is struggling to win this challenge. This is evidenced by the rebound in contamination observed in recent weeks. In addition to the relaxation of preventive measures against this deadly virus, other causes are at the origin of this resounding failure.

The shortage of doctors and nurses dates back to several years before the Covid-19 epidemic, reports Al Ahdath al Maghribia. The health crisis has added to this. According to the statistics of the Minister of Health, the human resource needs of his department are estimated at 32,387 doctors against 64,774 nurses and health technicians.

The other major difficulty that has favored this failure is the lack of equipment and medicines in pharmacies and health centers. The same media notes that hospitals have faced a lack of medical equipment, resulting in the infection of a large number of healthcare personnel. However, doctors argue that they were well equipped at the beginning of the crisis.

Several reasons have been cited by the ministry’s executives to justify this shortage of medical equipment and especially the medicines authorized in the treatment of Covid-19.