Government Plans to Increase Healthcare Workforce to Over 90,000 by 2026
Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch announced that the government aims to gradually increase the number of healthcare professionals to more than 90,000 by 2026.
In a presentation to the House of Representatives on Monday, July 7, Akhannouch detailed the government’s framework agreement designed to boost the healthcare workforce, aligning with efforts to address the current shortages in healthcare personnel. He noted the goal is to raise the number of healthcare professionals to surpass 24 per 10,000 residents, with a target of reaching 45 by 2030.
To achieve this ambitious project, the government has established a new training structure by creating three medical and pharmacy schools, as well as three university hospitals in the regions of Errachidia, Beni Mellal, and Guelmim.
The Prime Minister highlighted that these initiatives have resulted in an 88% increase in the educational capacity of medical, pharmacy, and dental colleges in 2024 compared to 2019. The government aims to increase this capacity to 7,543 seats beginning in 2027, as outlined in the framework agreement.
Furthermore, the capacity of higher institutes for nursing and health techniques has grown from 4,000 seats in the 2021-2022 academic year to over 7,000 in 2024-2025, reflecting a 75% increase.
Akhannouch noted that the government continues its effort to enhance medical training by reducing the duration of medical education from seven to six years starting from the 2022-2023 academic year, which will help address the staffing shortages in the healthcare sector.
He emphasized the government’s commitment to ensuring quality medical training and developing clinical training programs. It was announced that students will have the opportunity to undertake elective clinical internships of up to one year, divided into four training periods of three months each. This will be incorporated into the national educational guidelines and included as part of the curriculum, with the sixth year of medical training extending to 44 weeks.
Additionally, the number of financial positions allocated to the healthcare sector has seen a gradual increase, rising from 5,500 positions in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024, to 6,500 positions in 2025, totaling approximately 23,000 positions. Akhannouch considered this an indication of the efforts being made to strengthen human resources in the healthcare sector and to provide the necessary competencies to improve the quality of services offered to citizens.
