Rabat – Morocco’s Minister of Health and Social Protection, Amine El Tahraoui, announced on Tuesday that the government has started preparing a national strategy for mental health and well-being.
Speaking during a session in the House of Councillors, the minister said the strategy will cover all aspects of mental and psychological health. He was responding to a question from the Socialist Opposition Group about the situation of people living with mental illnesses.
El Tahraoui explained that the ministry is currently working on reforming the legal and regulatory framework related to mental health. This includes updating mental health laws and developing treatment protocols for priority mental health disorders.
In November, the minister revealed that nearly 49% of Moroccans are expected to suffer from psychological disorders at some point in their lives. These include depression (26%), anxiety disorders (9%), psychotic disorders (5.6%), and schizophrenia (1%).
Despite challenges such as the shortage of qualified professionals and their uneven distribution across regions, the ministry is making efforts to improve access to specialized mental health services, added the minister on Monday.
Morocco has around 3,230 professionals working in mental health as of 2025. These include 319 psychiatrists in the public sector and 274 in the private sector, along with 62 child psychiatrists in the public sector and 14 in the private sector. In addition, there are 1,700 mental health nurses working in public hospitals.
The ministry is also increasing the number of training spots in nursing and health institutes and is coordinating with the higher education sector to set up regional practical training committees. An agreement signed in 2022 aims to boost education and research in mental health by 2030.
The minister added that the government is working under the national multi-sector mental health plan for 2030. The plan includes expanding mental health departments in general hospitals, improving outpatient psychiatric services, creating crisis intervention teams, and strengthening rehabilitation and social reintegration programs.
The new strategy is expected to bring better mental health care to people across Morocco and reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness, he concluded.
