Morocco and Argentina signed, on Thursday in Rabat, a memorandum of understanding (MoU), with the objectives of improving health services and promoting pharmaceutical sovereignty, health coverage and crisis management.
This MoU, initialed by the Minister of Health and Social Protection, Khalid Aït Taleb and the Argentine Minister of Health, Carla Vizzotti, comes within the framework of the seventh session of the joint Moroccan-Argentine commission. It is thus part of the consolidation of bilateral relations, particularly in terms of promoting fruitful cooperation in the health and social protection sectors.
he health sector is a global priority for investment and modernization, noting that several national and international initiatives have been launched to build resilient and efficient health systems capable of solving shortcomings of the current global health architecture in a rapid, responsible and equitable manner, Ait Taleb said during the signing ceremony, marked by the presence of several Moroccan and Argentine officials, including the Argentine ambassador in Rabat , Juan Luis Cura.
Thanks to the royal will, he added, Morocco has initiated an ambitious project to generalize universal health coverage, which comes on top of a major project to overhaul the national health system, with a view to responding to the needs of the population through a supply of quality care that is equitably distributed throughout the national territory.
The Kingdom is committed to guaranteeing equitable access to medicines and vaccines, in favor of the development of local manufacturing of pharmaceutical products, Ait Taleb said again, assuring that this memorandum of understanding constitutes an important step towards a mutual commitment to sharing knowledge, know-how and best practices with a view to strengthening the respective health systems and promoting fruitful collaboration in the field of medicines, the management and implementation of health programs, the management hospitals and universal health coverage.
Morocco is positioning itself as a leader on the African continent to promote a health risk reduction policy, he noted, recalling that the Kingdom organized the first African Dialogue for the reduction of health risks, sanctioned by the Marrakech 2022 Declaration, which emphasized the need to strengthen partnerships in order to achieve health security and make Africa an integrated continent with a unified collective vision.
For his part, Vizzotti stressed that this memorandum is intended to be an effective way to promote equitable access to medicines with a technology accessible to both countries, South America and Africa.
She also stressed the importance of sharing new knowledge and technologies in the field of health between Morocco and Argentina and concerted action with the authorities operating in the field of health.
It should be noted that this memorandum covers various areas of cooperation including the pharmaceutical industry, the control and fight against counterfeit drugs, the management and implementation of health programs and the management of health establishments.
It also aims to strengthen the distinguished relations between Morocco and Argentina in various fields, particularly in terms of promoting investment opportunities and exchanging expertise and experience in the field of health.