Morocco Unveils Ambitious Plan to Combat Doctor Shortage, Including Foreign Recruitment

The Minister of Health and Social Protection, Amine Tahraoui, detailed the government’s strategy to address the structural deficit of personnel in the health sector. In response to a parliamentary question, he outlined the various measures implemented to counter a shortage of medical and nursing staff, attributed to the low attractiveness of the public sector and an uneven geographical distribution of resources.

To address this challenge, a framework agreement with a budget of over 3 billion dirhams was signed in 2022. It sets the goal of increasing the density of health professionals from 17.4 to 45 per 10,000 inhabitants by 2030. One of the concrete measures of this plan is the opening to foreign doctors, which has already led to the recruitment of 580 practitioners.

Alongside this external contribution, the main effort focuses on increasing national training capacities. The capacity in Higher Institutes of Nursing Professions has thus been increased by 206% in 2024. Similarly, the number of positions for the specialization of doctors through the residency competition has been revised upwards, as have the budgetary positions for employment, which will increase to 6,500 in 2025, compared to 4,000 in 2019. For greater efficiency, the organization of recruitment competitions has been delegated to the regions.

To directly address the problem of attractiveness, the sectoral social dialogue has also resulted in a set of incentive measures. These include notably the attribution of the reference index 509 to new doctors and an increase in the professional risk allowance. A new public health service system has also been established, offering specific incentives to encourage staff to work in remote areas.