In August 2020, when the pandemic was in its 6th month in Morocco, King Mohammed VI announced in his speech on the occasion of the Throne Day, the reform of social protection which consists in generalizing social and medical coverage. to all Moroccans.
A far-reaching societal reform that calls for profound changes and establishes universal social coverage through the generalization of Compulsory Health Insurance (AMO), family allowances (AF) for all households, a pension for the benefit of the active population not covered as well as an indemnity for loss of employment (IPE) for the benefit of the active population from January 2021. A project which will mobilize an envelope of 51 billion dirhams per year, according to the former Minister of Finance, Mohamed Benchaâboun.
Two years later, the project launched by King Mohammed VI is going well. In Fez, the King kicked off the implementation of the project, before presiding over the signing ceremony of the first agreements in April 2021. Since then, some 22 decrees have been adopted giving access to registration to nearly 11 million Moroccans, self-employed workers.
The National Social Security Fund (CNSS), which is an intermediary in this project and which has played a major role in communication through 8,000 contact points by liaising with the categories concerned (craftsmen, farmers, doctors, dentists, drivers taxis, hairdressers, architects, etc.), announced that nearly 2 million self-employed workers have been registered.
” As of today, we have been able to register just over two million self-employed workers, including 840,000 farmers, 380,000 craftsmen, nearly 300,000 auto-entrepreneurs, 250,000 craftsmen and traders who are part of the unique professional contribution and almost all of the liberal and independent professions“, declared Hassan Boubrik, director general of the CNSS, during a panel held this Wednesday, under the theme “ the generalization of AMO, a guarantee of social solidarity“, within the framework of the international symposium on social protection.
Structuring royal project for the health sovereignty of the Kingdom
In the face of pandemics and infections, there is no denying the King’s futuristic vision and the pioneering role he played in accelerating the implementation of this ” Big Project“, by inquiring on a daily basis of the progress, with the aim of better preparing and protecting its population, in the face of possible health crises which are likely to fall on humanity.
According to Dr. Tayeb Hamdi, “ King Mohammed VI, and since his accession to the throne, has launched many projects for the benefit of Moroccans, many of which were structuring. But in his view, among the most important projects of the reign of Mohammed VI, is that of the generalization of social and medical protection, with AMO in its wake, and the overhaul of the health system.
“This is another vision of Morocco which puts the average Moroccan citizen at the heart of its concerns, that is to say more than 36 million Moroccans, to whom the Kingdom will allow access to health in an equitable manner through insurance. mandatory sickness accompanied by an overhaul of the health system, so that citizens have real access to quality care without ruining household purses and with territorial justice. This project will make it possible to provide the population with a correct offer of care in terms of human resources, equipment, infrastructure and others, and in the quantity necessary to meet their needs.“, tells us the specialist.
This royal vision concerning the health sector, was marked before the pandemic by the royal call for a radical overhaul of the health system and the AMO, recalls Dr. Hamdi, noting that the directives of the King were clear.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has confirmed, on an international scale, the interest and the centrality of health in social life. Countries that have a resilient health system are those who have been able to face the pandemic without suffocating the social life of their fellow citizens and without stopping and breaking down the economy. It is therefore clear to everyone, health professionals and the population, that health is wealth. And there is no choice between wealth and health. The latter is the most important wealth that allows us to create others“, says the specialist.
By evoking the many speeches of the King, Dr. Hamid paints a portrait of a royal vision which frames this policy and this project of generalization of social and medical coverage, starting from the principle that health is above all a right.
” I am referring here to the King’s speech where he clearly expressed that he takes care of the health of Moroccans as he takes care of the health of his own family. It is therefore a right for the population which is guaranteed not only by the Constitution, but by the King himself, who has raised the health of Moroccans to the height of the health of his family.“, recalls the expert.
In addition to the right to health and the social side, Dr. Hamdi believes that the royal vision considers health as an essential element for the development of the country, as well as education.
” The development of human capital through health and education are two important points for a new Morocco, a new era. To do this, we must value human capital. The royal vision therefore wants to propel health as a product of development, the royal vision wants health to be an engine, a dynamo of development. And that’s the case“, maintains the expert, before specifying that the “ Moroccan citizen, who is also a player in this development, is therefore waiting for the fruit of this project to benefit from it in the form of health and other“.
A proactive vision for the Morocco of tomorrow
Following the Covid pandemic, health has positioned itself as a pillar of the country’s health and strategic security, assures the expert, but also a pillar of health sovereignty as the King had underlined during his speech at the occasion of the feast of the throne.
” We are entering an era where it is absolutely necessary to ensure its health security and sovereignty, in particular in cooperation with other countries. The royal vision was first of all anticipatory. And we have seen how this vision has made it possible, in the management of covid-19, to have the minimum possible human damage, economic losses and constraints on social life compared to other countries in the world, even developed.s,” he says.
This proactive vision, continues our interlocutor, has enabled the Kingdom during the Covid to be among the best performing countries in the world.
” It should be remembered that 5 weeks after the start of anti-covid vaccination in Morocco, we were ranked 6th country in the world to have vaccinated a large part of its population. The proof that when you are proactive, you can hope to be efficient. And it was. Today, the King through his vision is aware that we are about to enter an era of epidemics and microbial and other viral diseases. It is a globalization of diseases in the face of which it is necessary to have a resilient health system and for which it is necessary to prepare, hence the launch of the generalization of social and medical coverage and the overhaul of the health system by the King , to provide Morocco with a resilient health system“, analyzes Dr. Hamdi.
In this regard, the expert did not fail to mention the structuring project for the construction of the manufacturing plant for the anti-Covid-19 vaccine and other vaccines in Benslimane (Casablanca-Settat region).
An industrial unit which is part of the King’s vision intended to position the Kingdom as an essential biotechnological hub in Africa and in the world, capable of ensuring the health needs of the Continent in the short and long term, by integrating pharmaceutical research, clinical development, manufacturing and marketing of high-need biopharmaceuticals, recalls Dr. Hamdi. A project which must eventually mobilize an investment of 400 to 500 million euros.
” All this aims to put the country on track for a Morocco after covid and a health system that will accompany this renewal.“, he concludes.
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