By Prince Acquah
GNA Special Correspondent, Casablanca
Casablanca, May 05, GNA – The Kingdom of Morocco is implementing a transformative agenda to revolutionise its health system through significant public investments, digitalisation, and a strong pharmaceutical and biomedical industry.
The country is leveraging an astronomical surge in market momentum, a stark funding gap in health in Africa and a rare convergence of public policies, technological dynamics and the Mohammed VI Foundation for Sciences and Health.
Mr Amine Tahraoui, the Moroccan Minister of Health and Social Protection, indicated that the country aimed to strengthen infrastructural capacity and promote access to quality health care in an ambitious move to establish a benchmark health system for Africa.
Speaking at the ongoing GITEX Future Health Africa conference in Casablanca, he explained that Morocco had increased investment in health care and was committing more resources to the construction of numerous health facilities nationwide at a meteoric pace.
He said they were expanding university hospital centres across all regions and upgrading all health facilities with state-of-the-art technologies to position the hospitals as strategic frontline facilities to advance medical excellence across the country in the spirit of equity.
In addition to that, the country had expanded its mandatory health insurance policy (AMO), a royal initiative, to cover millions of people accessing medical care.
Mr Tahraoui noted that health only used to be a single component of GITEX Africa Morocco, a technology expo, but it had now outgrown the platform driven by committed public actors, steady growth in pharmaceutical and biomedical industry, startups and healthcare investors looking to invest in Africa.
Instead of being overwhelmed by the challenges in the sector, the Minister entreated Africa to explore the endless opportunities they presented.
“Today, more than ever, health remains a deeply public policy. But it is also a global, massive, and strategic market. And in Africa, everything is accelerating at once: infrastructure, digitalization, industry, and financing,” he noted.
Hundreds of global leaders in health care, investors, start-ups, and exhibitors are participating in the three-day conference which aims to revolutionise Africa’s ailing healthcare system.
The conference has been organised by the Mohammed VI Foundation for Sciences and Health (FM6SS), the Ministry of Health, and Social Protection of Morocco and the KOAUN under the high patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, the King of Morocco.
It is on the theme: “Digitising Africa’s healthcare future: Essential care advancing with AI” and scientific conferences, specialised workshops, and an exhibition and innovation spaces.
Participating African countries include Morocco, Ghana, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Benin, Dr Congo, Tchad, Gabon, Niger, Mali, Togo, Zambia, Tanzania, Nigeria, Malawi, Republic of Kenya, Cape Verde, Ethiopia, Liberia, Gambia, Angola.
The opening session of the event deliberated on how Africa could attainment health sovereignty through sustainable local financing, continental collaborations, and unified policies, regulations, and unified protocols among other strategies.
GNA
Edited by Alice Tettey/Linda Asante Agyei
Reporter: Prince Acquah
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