Health Ministry Reduces Costs of Key Medications Across Morocco
The decision seeks to make essential medicines more affordable and accessible for patients across the country.
Published in the Official Gazette, the price adjustments follow a thorough review of original, generic, and biosimilar drug prices currently available in Morocco.
The ministry assessed pricing requests submitted by pharmaceutical companies and recalibrated the costs for the public and hospital sectors.
Among the affected medications is Almantin 10 mg, widely used for Alzheimer's treatment. Its price for the general public has dropped from MAD 140.40 ($14.00) to MAD 133.30 ($13.30). The hospital price has been lowered from MAD 87.70 ($8.70) to MAD 83.30 ($8.30).
Another significant reduction concerns Dotarem 0.5 mmol/ml, an injectable used in medical imaging. The public price has fallen sharply from MAD 535.00 ($53.50) to MAD 326.00 ($32.60). For hospitals, the price drops from MAD 355.00 ($35.50) to MAD 216.00 ($21.60).
These are just some instances among others from the list.
These price cuts represent a clear effort to lower healthcare costs, especially for patients who require long-term treatment.
The ministry's move also reflects ongoing efforts to regulate pharmaceutical prices and reduce the financial burden on both patients and healthcare providers.
These efforts to lower medication prices are commendable and represent a positive step toward improving healthcare access in Morocco.
However, many Moroccans continue to struggle with rising inflation, which limits their ability to afford even the reduced prices. For a large portion of the population, essential medicines remain out of reach and points to the urgent need for further measures to make healthcare truly affordable.
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And if by chance some of them make the decision to return to launch projects or settle in their country, expressions like 'a quality life', 'struggling', 'saved', etc., ring in their ears like a bell of apocalypse. They are then blamed for having taken a dangerous U-turn. Be that as it may, they are holding on even though resettlement might be hard and bureaucracy temporarily hindering their momentum. However, things are improving, and hope remains; otherwise, why would there be more and more foreigners choosing Morocco as a safe haven, an ideal place to build or rebuild their lives? Nonetheless, some might be tempted to argue that I would have forgotten to talk about the new reality on the ground, namely that Morocco is becoming a place of residence for many sub-Saharan, Middle Eastern, and European foreigners. No, not at all; I just didn't want to talk about the same problems already mentioned above. 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