فاس نيوز ميديا جريدة الكترونية جهوية تعنى بشؤون و أخبار جهة فاس مكناس – متجددة على مدار الساعة
The branch of the Socialist Union of Popular Forces Party in Hamriya, Meknes, organized a seminar titled “Meknes, Where to? The Reality of Health as a Case Study,” on the evening of Friday, March 14, 2025. The seminar was attended by Dr. Mohamed Kadouri, a private sector doctor and municipal councilor, and Mr. Mohamed Dahmani, a member of the Economic, Social, and Environmental Council, under the supervision of Dr. Ibtissam El Yahyaoui.
At the beginning of the meeting, Dr. Mohamed Kadouri presented an overview that discussed a number of alarming facts about the health situation in the city of Meknes, outlining the significant challenges faced by the sector in the city.
Dr. Kadouri explained, based on local data, that the city of Meknes is suffering from a severe shortage of hospital beds and healthcare facilities, as well as a shortage of medical staff working in the public sector. He noted that the average number of people per health center exceeds 14,000, while international recommendations, including those from the World Health Organization, suggest that the number should range between 5,000 and 10,000 per center. This highlights the inability of the city’s healthcare system to meet the needs of the population.
He also mentioned the hospitals’ struggle with a critical lack of beds, with the ratio being 0.8 beds per 1,000 people in the public sector, which is much lower than the World Health Organization’s recommended rate of 3 beds per 1,000 people. He pointed out that this shortage causes significant problems, the most notable of which is patients lying on the floor in some hospitals, especially at “Banio” Hospital, which also lacks an intensive care unit. He provided statistics on the occupancy rate of beds in the maternity ward at Banio Hospital in 2016, which exceeded 90%, meaning the number of patients far exceeds the hospital’s capacity.
Regarding the number of doctors, Dr. Kadouri noted the significant disparity between the public and private sectors. The number of doctors in the private sector is 134, while only 77 doctors work in the public sector, despite the addition of Royal Armed Forces doctors. He emphasized that this gap between the sectors negatively affects the healthcare system in the city.
In his intervention, Mr. Mohamed Dahmani discussed the history of healthcare system reforms in Morocco, referring to the stages of reform the system has undergone since independence to the present. He also spoke about reform programs, particularly the initiative to expand health coverage, explaining that these programs have not fully achieved their goals in some areas.
Mr. Dahmani also addressed the dominance of the private sector in healthcare, pointing out that the majority of graduates from medical schools in Morocco prefer to work in the private sector, while a large number of graduates from French medical schools opt for the public sector. He confirmed that this trend contributes to exacerbating the health problems in the public sector and increases the burdens on government hospitals.
At the end of the seminar, the participants highlighted the need to strengthen the health sector in the city and improve the quality of healthcare services provided to citizens by increasing the number of beds, improving living conditions for patients, and expanding health coverage for the public.
Source: Fes News Media
