By Safaa Kasraoui
By Safaa Kasraoui
Rabat – Al Hoceima’s Mohammed V Hospital received five ambulances and 20 tons of medicines and medical supplies from the Ministry of Health on July 25, destined to all medical centers in the surrounding areas.
Minister of Health El Hossein El Ouardi paid a visit to the Al Hoceima province on July 24 to check on projects set up to improve health conditions in the area.
El Ouardi said that several medical centers are currently under construction, while 28 hospitals undergoing renovations in numerous areas in the Rif, including Lmzouren and Ait Youssef Ou Ali, a small town and rural commune in the Al Hoceima province.
A budget estimated at MAD 374 million was allocated in order to equip a general hospital in Youssef Ou Ali.
The minister also inaugurated an extension to the Mohammed V Regional Hospital in Al Hoceima. With a MAD 43 million budget, the building was equipped with several medical sections, including a maternity section, a surgical facility, a special care room for newborns and preterm infants, and eight incubators.
The minister also promised to provide the Al Hoceima province, home of protests since late October, with seven additional ambulances in August.
Protests in the region started after the death of Mouhcine Fikri, a local fish vendor, who was fatally crash by a garbage truck on October 28. Since then Al Hoceima province witnessed demonstrations and marches by activists who have been urging the government to respond to their economic and social demands.