Rabat: The Health Sector Support Program PASS III, launched in 2020 as part of the partnership between Morocco and the European Union, was officially concluded on Wednesday in Rabat. The closing ceremony, chaired by the Minister of Health and Social Protection, Amine Tehraoui, and the Ambassador of the EU to Morocco, Dimiter Tzantchev, provided an opportunity to present the program’s results and highlight its contributions to the Kingdom’s major structural reforms in the areas of quality and safety of care, territorial governance, and preparedness for health crises.
According to Agence Marocaine De Presse, the meeting also served to reaffirm Morocco and the EU’s shared determination to pursue a forward-looking strategic partnership based on complementarity and driven by a common ambition to strengthen a more resilient health system serving all citizens. The support provided through PASS III notably resulted in the strengthening of quality-assurance and hospital-accreditation processes, preparations for the new territorial governance of the health system, and the strengthening of primary health care.
The program also contributed to consolidating national preparedness and response mechanisms for health crises, as well as strengthening the technical facilities and equipment of Ibn Sina University Hospital in Rabat. The Ambassador of the EU to Morocco praised the longstanding, strong, and deeply forward-looking cooperation between Morocco and the EU in the field of health, stating that “investing in health means investing in human dignity, social cohesion, the reduction of inequalities, and the stability of our societies.”
He further noted that transforming the health system requires governance reforms, reliable tools, strengthened skills and expertise, and a long-term vision, adding that PASS III has contributed to strengthening these fundamental pillars. Far more than simple technical or financial support, the Health Sector Support Program – Phase III illustrates a shared ambition to accompany reforms of the Moroccan health system through a structural, sustainable approach focused on the needs of the population, he observed.
Health is clearly emerging as a sector of the future for this partnership, insofar as it directly concerns human capital, which constitutes the greatest wealth of any society, while also lying at the intersection of many contemporary challenges, such as innovation, sovereignty, skilled employment, territorial equality, scientific research, prevention, digitalization, and crisis preparedness, Tzantchev said. In this context, he called for the partnership between Morocco and the EU in the fields of health and social protection to be sustained, based on the sharing of expertise, innovation, research, and capacity development, in support of the major reforms undertaken by the Kingdom in this sector.
For his part, Tehraoui commended the quality of the partnership between Morocco and the EU in the field of health, particularly the continued support provided by the program for the Kingdom’s structural reforms. He observed that the Kingdom, under the enlightened leadership of HM King Mohammed VI, has embarked on a profound transformation of its health system, with a clear ambition to build a system that is more equitable, more effective, and more resilient.
He noted that the achievements made under the program are helping to advance the Kingdom’s ambition to build a health system that is more equitable, more effective, more resilient, and more focused on proximity to citizens. He also highlighted its contribution to improving quality-assurance and hospital-accreditation processes, developing primary health care, and preparing for the implementation of the new territorial governance model for the health system.
Tehraoui stressed the importance of continuing to strengthen this partnership by supporting national priorities, particularly the modernisation of healthcare provision, the digitalization of the health system, the strengthening of pharmaceutical sovereignty, and the consolidation of health security.