Rabat – Morocco does not suffer from a shortage of medicines used for the treatment of COVID-19, according to Pharma 5, a world-renowned Moroccan laboratory network and supplier of wide-ranging treatment protocols.
The vice-president of the Pharma 5 laboratories, Myriam Lahlou-Filali, said that rumors about a shortage of COVID-19 medicines in Morocco are “false information.”
She said that any speculation on the topic has “shameful goals.”
Filali told Morocco’s state media that medicines used in COVID-19 treatment, such as Azithromycin, chloroquine, paracetamol, and omeprazole are manufactured locally by several Moroccan laboratories.
Abdelmounaim Belaila, a member of the Moroccan Institute of Strategic Intelligence, also ruled out any shortage, saying that the only shortages concern “certain imported products and medicines.”
He said the shortage in these products is because COVID-19 disrupted the global supply chain, draining supplies by rich countries with large markets.
Belaila insisted that the COVID-19 medicines currently in use in Morocco are all locally produced, ruling out any prospects of shortage of stock.
He acknowledged, however, that such rumors are normal in the times of a pandemic and pressure. He also argued that the situation emphasizes the importance of having various reliable sources of supply, “especially since it is often difficult to reconcile the availability of the product or drug and its reliability to meet the required standards.”
The expert argued that the production of the kits in Morocco by a Moroccan start-up is an example that must be duplicated in the pharmaceutical industry.
Amid the recent surge in COVID-19 cases, Morocco announced a decision to produce PCR tests locally.
The president of the Moroccan Association of the Pharmaceutical Industry (AMIP), Ali Sedrati, also commented on the rumors of a medicines shortage, noting that the country has redoubled its efforts to secure sufficient supplies to the Moroccan market of several drugs, especially for COVID-19 treatment.
