Three major Moroccan health professional groups are opposing a plan to allow private investors into pharmacies, warning it could threaten patient care and the independence of medical decisions.
The National Union of Private Sector Doctors, the National Federation of Dental Unions, and the Confederation of Moroccan Pharmacists’ Unions said any move to treat health professions as purely financial investments is unacceptable.
The groups reacted to a recommendation from Morocco’s Competition Council to open pharmacy ownership to outside investors.
They said the proposal could expand to other regulated medical professions, putting ethics and patient well-being at risk.
The unions said that these professions are organized and guided by strict laws and ethics and that opening them to private investors risks conflicts of interest and could threaten public health.
The organizations called on the government to start a national dialogue with professional bodies to reform the health system while protecting doctors, dentists, and pharmacists, and ensuring citizens have safe and fair access to care.
The unions said letting private investors control pharmacies or dental practices could turn health services into commercial enterprises.
They warned this could concentrate economic power, weaken independent practitioners, and make access to care less fair, especially in rural areas.
The groups expressed full solidarity with pharmacists and said that any attack on one part of the health system affects all.
The unions also said they are ready to take legal and legitimate action to protect the independence of health professions and safeguard Morocco’s medical and pharmaceutical security.
The tensions in Morocco’s pharmaceutical sector have been growing for years. Independent pharmacies face rising rent and supply costs, competition from larger chains, and pressure from wholesalers.
Many pharmacists say that opening ownership to outside investors could push small operators out of business, reduce neighborhood pharmacy coverage, and create urban concentration of services while rural areas are left underserved.
add your comment
Terms of publication : Not to offend the writer, people, sacred things, or attack religions or the divine self, and refrain from racist incitement and insults.