Statements related to the possibility of bringing Filipino nurses to Morocco, in order to bridge the shortage in human resources, sparked a state of controversy in the medical community, at a time when the country’s health sector suffers from a shortage in the number of workers approaching 50 percent of the global average.
The statements were made by the Philippine ambassador to Rabat, Leslie Baga, in his interview with his country’s news agency, through which he revealed that he had been told, during a meeting he had with Moroccan officials in Rabat, at the beginning of this April, of the possibility of bringing Filipino nurses to work in Morocco.
Discussion among professionals
Opinions about the possibility of employing foreign women as nurses in Moroccan hospitals were divided between supporters and opponents, and it also generated serious discussion among professionals.
In this context, Fatima Zahraa Blaine, a member of the National Council of the Independent Syndicate of Nurses and Health Technicians, said that the statements were issued by a foreign ambassador, and she has not been responded to by any Moroccan official so far.
And she continued, in a statement to “Sky News Arabia”, that if Morocco’s intention to recruit foreign personnel is confirmed, the professionals of the sector will meet this step with rejection and condemnation, for several reasons. Chief among them is the presence of qualified Moroccan nurses outside the labor market, and it is better for them to be employed, by providing sufficient financial positions to contain them, she said.
In her speech, she pointed out that low wages and difficult working conditions, especially at the level of rural areas and remote areas, will make it difficult to bring in foreign personnel to work in the health sector in Morocco, stressing that the professionals of the sector are continuing their struggle to extract a settlement of their conditions and an increase in their wages, through a series of protests. Continuing in front of the delegates of health and parliament.
In terms of numbers, the professional pointed out that “6,500 vacancies are provided annually, jointly between doctors and nurses, in exchange for 7,000 thousand nurses graduating annually from various training institutes, with the prospect of 11,000 nurses graduating annually, according to the Ministry’s will,” and wondered: “How will this number be accommodated?” Massive alumni?
Severe bleeding
The health sector in Morocco suffers from severe bleeding, due to the emigration of health personnel abroad, especially to European countries, which are attracting them with a number of incentives and facilities. This bleeding deepened Morocco’s needs and widened the gap between health supply and demand.
According to identical statistics, Morocco needs more than 64,000 nurses and health workers to cover the minimum needs of the country’s health sector, a situation that is getting worse as a result of the continuous migration of these personnel abroad due to low working conditions and wages.
Morocco also needs 32,000 additional doctors to fill shortages, and a report by the National Council for Human Rights monitored that the number of Moroccans practicing abroad ranges between 10,000 and 14,000 doctors; Which is statistically equivalent to that one doctor out of every 3 Moroccans practices outside the country.
government recipe
In recent years, the Ministry of Health has begun to develop a comprehensive vision for the health professions, with the aim of promoting the public hospital, according to the declared objectives.
And Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch highlighted, on January 10, at the Council of Advisors, that the components of the plan, which the government intends to implement, include 4 major levers and 11 pivotal measures aimed at strengthening and strengthening the health system to respond to various challenges and ensure the success of the major projects in which Morocco is involved.
He pointed out that “the generalization of social protection in the country requires the presence of a hospital structure capable of keeping pace with this transformation, noting that the health sector suffers from structural problems that are mainly manifested in the difficulty of accessing treatments and health services that do not meet the needs and expectations.”
Akhannouch revealed that the government signed a framework agreement aimed at increasing the number of health professionals from 17.4 per 10,000 people registered in 2021 to 24 by 2025 and then to 45 by 2030 in order to comply with the standards of the World Health Organization specified in 23 professionals. Health for every 10,000 people, with a budget of more than 3 million dirhams (about $300 million).