A ceremony of presentation and signature of the cooperation strategy between Morocco and the World Health Organization (WHO) for the period 2023-2027 was held, Friday evening in Rabat, as part of the celebration of the World Health Day.
Initialled by the Minister of Health and Social Protection Khalid Ait Taleb and the WHO representative in Morocco Maryam Bigdeli, this strategy outlines the strategic directions of WHO's technical support in strengthening the health sector in Morocco, in addition to consolidating bilateral collaboration to improve the health and well-being of Moroccan citizens.
Developed by WHO and the Ministry of Health and Social Protection in close collaboration with key national and international actors in the health sector, the strategy is based on four strategic priorities, namely, supporting the strengthening of the national health system in the effort to achieve universal health coverage (UHC), consolidating the resilience of the national health system, backing the governance in the process of redesigning the national health system, and promoting the health and well-being of the population and health equity by acting on the social and environmental determinants and strengthening the multisectoral approach.
The development of this strategy has taken into account the progress made in the implementation of the reforms of the Moroccan health system, the orientations of the new health system redesign as well as the global agenda of the WHO, particularly the international effort to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is also aligned with the United Nations Framework for Sustainable Development Cooperation (UNFSCC) 2023-2027.
Speaking on this occasion, Ait Taleb highlighted the timing of this signature "which comes at the right time to support the achievement of national priorities and the realization of our international commitments as reflected in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, based on the new CCSD 2023-2027, the WHO thirteenth General Programme of Work 2019-2025 and the WHO Strategy for the Eastern Mediterranean Region.
"Aware of the importance of achieving intersectoral synergies, this strategy is the culmination of a transparent and inclusive process of dialogue and preparation in which all international partners, the various ministerial departments, national institutions concerned and civil society were involved," he noted.
This Morocco-WHO cooperation strategy represents the fourth cooperation framework between the two parties, said Bigdeli, adding that it reflects the organization's commitment to provide qualitative support to the country's needs and priorities over the next five years.
In an address at the occasion, she also highlighted the positive record of past cooperation for the period 2018-2022 in terms of strengthening governance, development of sectoral strategies and policies and capacity building and support to the management of the COVID 19 health crisis.
