Health and Welfare

Health and Welfare

Health: According to the latest available information, Morocco has inadequate numbers of physicians (0.5 per 1,000 people) and hospital beds (1.0 per 1,000 people) and poor access to water (82 percent of the population) and sanitation (75 percent of the population). The health care system includes 122 hospitals, 2,400 health centers, and 4 university clinics, but they are poorly maintained and lack adequate capacity to meet the demand for medical care. Only 24,000 beds are available for 6 million patients seeking care each year, including 3 million emergency cases. The health budget corresponds to 1.1 percent of gross domestic product and 5.5 percent of the central government budget.

Morocco health

In 2001 the principal causes of mortality in the urban population were circulatory system diseases (20.4 percent); perinatal diseases (9.3 percent); cancer (8.5 percent); endrocrinological, nutritional, and metabolic diseases (7.6 percent); respiratory system diseases (6.9 percent); and infectious and parasitic diseases (4.7 percent). In 2004 the minister of health announced that the country had eradicated a variety of childhood diseases, specifically diphtheria, polio, tetanus, and malaria, but other diseases continue to pose challenges. Although still high at more than 40 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2006, the infantry mortality rate shows considerable improvement since 1981, when it was estimated at 91 deaths per 1,000 live births. According to estimates for 2001, approximately 0.1 percent of the population between the ages of 15 and 49 was infected with human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS).

Morocco Welfare

Welfare: The National Fund for Social Security (La Caisse Nationale de Sécurité Sociale—CNSS) has managed Morocco’s social security program for wage earners since April 1961. This public agency is responsible for collecting contributions from companies and also paying out benefits to workers employed in the principal sectors of the economy: industry and commerce, agriculture and fishing, and the trades. Benefit payments protect workers (and their families) against the loss of wages as a result of illness, pregnancy, disability, or old age. With a staff of about 5,000, the agency maintains 50 offices throughout the country.