The ministry is counting on 7,543 new places from 2027, in accordance with the framework agreement signed between the Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation and the Ministry of the Economy and Finance relating to the implementation of the program to increase the workforce in the health sector by 2030, at a cost of more than 3 billion dirhams (MMDH), said Mr. Tahraoui who spoke during a session devoted to oral questions in the House of Advisors.
Concerning the category of nurses and health technicians, the minister reported 8,360 educational places in the bachelor’s cycle in 2024, an increase of 206%, while 680 educational places were devoted to the master’s cycle between 2020 and 2024 (+353%), adding that his department plans to open 11,900 educational places by 2029.
The ministry, he continued, is looking into a project aimed at creating 16 research teams and 4 research laboratories for the doctoral cycle in the Higher Institutes of Nursing and Health Technology Professions (ISPITS), in coordination with government and social partners, in addition to increasing the number of resident medical specialist positions over a period of five years, with an increase of 100 positions each year for contract residents and 50 positions for non-contract residents.
These measures will make it possible to go from 18 health professionals per 10,000 inhabitants in 2022 to 45 health professionals/10,000 inhabitants by 2030, in line with the standards of the World Health Organization (WHO), he pointed out.
The minister recalled, in this sense, that the government has worked to strengthen the health offer and increase the workforce in the sector, noting that the number of budgetary positions dedicated to the recruitment of health executives increased from 4,000 positions in 2019 to 6,500 planned in 2025, while strengthening the responsibilities of the decentralized services of the ministry, through the delegation of signature for the organization of regional recruitment competitions since the end 2020.
Mr. Tahraoui also noted that strengthening the responsibilities of these services allows greater flexibility in the management of the deficit experienced by certain regions in terms of medical and nursing staff, and taking into account the particularities of each region in the perspective of the operationalization of territorial health groups.
Providing health establishments with the necessary human resources is a priority for any health system, assured the official, stressing that the design and implementation of any health policy “are dependent on the availability of health executives capable of ensure health services that meet the aspirations of citizens.