Nurse Exodus Threatens Morocco’s Healthcare System as 1,000 Leave for Better Pay Abroad

In a report presented to the Economic, Social and Environmental Council (CESE), the Independent Union of Nurses provided worrying data on the massive departures of these, due to poor working conditions (lack of motivational bonuses, very low salaries, lack of supervision), towards Canada or other European countries that offer more adequate and interesting working conditions. According to this document, 1,000 nurses would have already left the kingdom.

Morocco has 34,000 nurses and health technicians, 29,000 of whom are in the public sector, a number that does not allow for national health coverage. The government, for its part, estimates the need for 65,000 nurses and health technicians, reports Al Osboue. With these massive departures, the gap widens further and the need for health personnel becomes increasingly important, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic period.

A Moroccan nurse earns a salary of 6,000 DH, while a European nurse earns a salary of 3,000 euros, nearly six times that of the Moroccan. "Today, several nurses with 15 to 20 years of experience are thinking of leaving to improve their standard of living. We urge the government to make an effort to respond to the grievances of workers in this sector in order to dissuade them from emigrating," suggests Mustapha Jaâa, the president of the Union.

The success of the social protection project, linked to the availability of quality human resources in sufficient quantity, depends on it, he adds, calling on the government to accelerate its project to increase the salaries of doctors to 12,000 DH and nurses to 8,000 DH and to set up a national nursing authority to "put an end to the disorder and block the way for intruders".