Akhannouch to Western countries: “leave us the doctors, we need them”.

“If you want manpower, we can discuss it, but leave the doctors and engineers, we need them”, was the message conveyed by the Head of Government, Aziz Akhannouch, to European and North American countries during his visit to the House of Representatives, where he presented the results of the reform of the healthcare system.
At a time when the immigration of Moroccan executives, particularly doctors, to Europe and North America is a growing concern, the Head of Government recognized the urgent need to stop the hemorrhage. From the rostrum of the hemicycle, Akhannouch reiterated the need to convey this message to our European partners. He complained that some countries keep young students to integrate them into their hospitals, to the detriment of the countries of origin, including Morocco. “Some countries have a quota, and as soon as someone arrives in their country, they take him or her,” deplored the Chief Executive, who stressed the urgent need to raise this with European partners. “I have not failed to make this known to our German friends”, he recalled, referring to his recent visit to Berlin where he met his German counterpart Olaf Scholz.
The current shortage of doctors in Morocco remains critical. Nearly 32,000 are unaccounted for, in addition to the 65,000 nurses our hospitals need. Catching up remains a challenge,” said Aziz Akhannouch.
“Even if we were to increase the number of students trained, it would be difficult to make up for the current shortfall,” he declared, while reaffirming the government’s determination to go all the way in tackling the problem of understaffing.
As a reminder, the exodus of doctors is becoming all the more worrying as the figures are alarming. Almost 700 are leaving the Kingdom to settle elsewhere, where working conditions and salaries are better. According to a study published in lthe European Journal of Public Healthpublished on October 20, 2021, 70% of future doctors have indicated their intention to leave their country after completing their studies.
The Executive aims to reach 90,000 doctors by 2025, to bring Morocco into line with World Health Organization (WHO) standards, which recommend a threshold of 24 health professionals per 10,000 inhabitants.
This year, under the 2024 Finance Bill, the Executive has created 5,500 new budgetary positions in Public Health. In all, 16,500 budgetary positions have been created in the sector since the current government took office.