Morocco Faces Critical Medicine Shortages in Hospitals, Study Reveals

The rate of unavailability of medicines varies between 15% in local hospitals and 32% in university hospital centers (CHUs) in Morocco. These are, among other things, the conclusions of a study on the accessibility of the drug in the public sector. This information, Hicham Nejmi, Secretary General of the Ministry of Health, delivered it to the press, during a conference-debate held on Wednesday, July 10, 2019, reports Médias24.

In his presentation, he explained the reasons underlying this high rate at the CHU level. "These are the most expensive and most innovative drugs that are prescribed to ramédiste patients and they are not always available whereas, for this type of structure, we are generally on standard consumption and use drugs," he argued.

To reverse the trend, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Health said that the avenues for improvement have already been defined. These include the establishment of a reference list of essential medicines, the combination of framework contracts over three years and annual contracts, the launch of framework contracts for more than 50% of commonly used medicines. In addition, there is the revision and adaptation of the technical specifications, in consultation with professionals and partners, and finally the creation of the Drug Agency and the Supply Agency.