Health: HR, digitalization… the reform is accelerating

Starting next August, a total of 530 specialist doctors will be assigned to various regions of the Kingdom immediately upon obtaining their diplomas. A decision that marks a major turning point in the overhaul of the Moroccan public health system and that fits into a logic of territorial rebalancing of the healthcare offer.

The announcement was made by Amine Tehraoui, Minister of Health and Social Protection, during oral questions held at the Chamber of Representatives on the Territorial Health Groups (GST), on Monday, June 1st in Rabat.

“We are breaking with a situation that lasted more than 30 years, to guarantee an equitable contribution of all specialist doctors to public service during an essential phase of their career”, the minister insists.
From now on, all new specialist doctors will be required to perform a period of mandatory service in public health establishments after their graduation, namely four years for the 2026 and 2027 promotions, then three years starting from 2028.

This measure breaks with a situation that has persisted for more than three decades and establishes a new principle, that of the systematic contribution of specialist doctors to public service during a key phase of their career.

The objective is twofold: durably strengthen hospital capacities and correct territorial imbalances in access to care. In the same dynamic, nearly 2,000 positions were opened this year for resident doctors within the framework of the new training system.

These promotions will progressively integrate public establishments starting from 2030, constituting a central pillar of the future Territorial Health Groups (GST), the new level of governance of the health system.

Parallelly, a recruitment campaign for 1,000 doctors is currently underway to meet the urgent needs of hospitals. And within an important institutional structure, the first board of directors of the GST was held on July 28, 2025 at the headquarters of Mohammed VI University Hospital Center in Tangier, marking the operational launch of this new territorial architecture.

Followed by those of Rabat-Salé-Kénitra (May 14, 2026), Souss-Massa (May 25, 2026), and finally Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra (end of May 2026) with the aim of centralizing health management at the level of each region, encompassing hospitals, CHUs, and the local care network.

The goal is to ensure better complementarity of health establishments and optimal distribution of human and financial resources.

The rural world at the heart of the reform

Beyond human resources, the transformation of the health system fits into a broader ambition: reduce territorial disparities, particularly between urban centers and rural areas.

Strengthening the healthcare offer in rural areas today constitutes one of the structuring axes of the reform.

“Access to care cannot depend on the place of residence. Our goal is to guarantee the dignity of the citizen and real equality before the public health service”, Tehraoui emphasizes.

The ministry acts according to an integrated approach articulated around three levers. First, the rehabilitation of health infrastructure, with the renovation of approximately 1,400 health centers across the Kingdom, of which more than 70% located in rural or mountainous areas.

A second phase was launched this year, covering 1,600 additional centers, with the objective of standardizing quality and equipment standards across the entire territory.

The second axis concerns human resources, with a marked orientation of new budgetary positions toward rural areas, representing 70% of assignments in 2025. Financial and organizational incentives are added to stabilize health professionals in these often under-resourced regions.

Finally, the third lever aims to bring care closer to citizens, through the creation of new hospital establishments, strengthening emergency services, and increased use of digital solutions and artificial intelligence to compensate for the shortage of specialist doctors.

The digital transformation of the health system is no longer perceived as a technological option, but as a true instrument of structural reform. It aims to improve the quality of care, streamline patient pathways, and strengthen sector governance.

“Digitalization is not a technical project, it’s a lever of global transformation that allows bringing care closer to the citizen and improving the performance of the health system”, the minister summarizes.
A national project for convergence of health information systems is being deployed. It relies on the progressive generalization of digital systems in hospitals, their integration in primary care centers, and the construction of a unified digital ecosystem.

A single medical record is also being developed to ensure continuous patient follow-up across different levels of care. This digital architecture fits into the logic of Territorial Health Groups, enabling more coherent management at the regional level.

At the same time, several innovations based on artificial intelligence are being experimented with, notably an ultrasound assistance program for pregnant women in rural areas and early breast cancer detection solutions at Ibn Sina CHU in Rabat.

Telemedicine is also developing to bring medical expertise closer to the most remote areas.

Pharmaceutical security and health sovereignty

The issue of medication shortages is also a central concern. Confronted with global tensions on supply chains, Morocco is accelerating the restructuring of its pharmaceutical system.

According to the minister, “we are progressively moving from shortage management to an anticipatory system, based on planning, monitoring, and health sovereignty”.

Created a little more than a year ago, the Moroccan Agency for Medicines and Health Products (AMMPS) is beginning to produce its first results, notably with the update of the national list of essential medicines.

A pharmaceutical monitoring system has also been established to anticipate market tensions and enable rapid interventions. Parallelly, digitalization of procedures aims to strengthen transparency and reduce administrative delays. The State is also accelerating its pharmaceutical sovereignty strategy through local production and development of generics.

A systemic reform under tension, but accelerating

Since October 2025, an emergency plan was launched to improve the performance of hospital establishments. It relies on the reorganization of emergencies, strengthening of medical teams, and improvement of medication supply, up 26%.

On the ground, effects are beginning to be felt, notably on waiting times and quality of care. Hospital capacities have also been strengthened with 1,717 additional beds through the opening of 11 establishments, benefiting nearly 14 million citizens. New projects are underway, with nearly 2,900 additional beds expected in the short term.

Finally, quality of reception has become an operational priority, with the reorganization of hospital services, creation of medico-social assistance units, and modernization of patient circuits.

At the crossroads of human, territorial, digital, and industrial reforms, the Moroccan health system enters a phase of profound transformation.

“We are building a more effective, more equitable public health service closer to the citizen, everywhere in the territory,” Tehraoui declares.

A reform that, beyond announcements, is now deployed as a multisectoral operational project, where the issue is no longer only that of resources, but that of the durable refounding of access to care.