Join on WhatsApp
Join on Telegram
Laayoune – Ait Taleb, Morocco’s Health Minister, has said that Morocco is actively addressing the mental health issues in the country and aims to increase the number of trained professionals in the future.
Addressing a written question in the Parliament on Tuesday, the Minister of Health and Social Protection Khalid Ait Taleb stated that there were not enough professionals in mental health to meet the demands of the community.
Ait Taleb added that there are in Morocco 343 psychiatrists, 214 psychologists, 1,335 psychiatric nurses, 16 child psychiatrists, and 64 physicians with special training in dealing with mental health issues.
The minister also highlighted that 26% of Moroccans experience depression at some point in their lives, while 9% experience anxiety disorders, whereas 5.6% experience mental disorders, and 1% experience schizophrenia.
Despite such high rates of mental and psychological disorders in the country, the number of trained professionals is insufficient to address the various mental health issues plaguing the country. Ait Taleb vowed to increase both the number of mental health experts and the resources invested in this field.
In 2017, Morocco’s population stood at approximately 35.28 million people, but the country had only 197 psychiatrists. This means there were only 0.63 psychiatrists available for every 100,000 persons, on average.
Read also: Morocco’s Health Ministry Raises Awareness on Mental Health Day
The ministry sought in 2018 to increase the number of mental health professionals to deal with this staff shortage. As of 2018, 140 healthcare workers have been trained to deal with mental health issues.
Additionally, the Ministry has created a reference manual on best medical practices for treating mental illnesses and rehabilitating existing psychiatric services.
It also implemented in 2018 a nationwide policy for the prevention of suicide and early identification of mental problems in vulnerable groups, particularly pregnant women and nursing mothers.
