Morocco’s government has unveiled sweeping reforms to medical training and public service requirements for doctors, pharmacists and dentists as part of broader efforts to modernize the country’s healthcare system and expand social protection coverage.
The reforms were presented Friday during a joint news conference in Rabat by Health and Social Protection Minister Amine Tahraoui and Higher Education Minister Azzedine El Midaoui.
At the center of the overhaul is a gradual reduction in the mandatory public service commitment for specialist doctors from eight years to three years, under a new legal framework governing medical, pharmacy and dental students in training.
Officials said the reform updates regulations dating back to 1993 and aims to improve training pathways, increase the attractiveness of public-sector employment and respond more effectively to the needs of Morocco’s healthcare system.
Under the current system, specialist doctors who received state-supported training were required to work in the public sector for eight years after completing their specialization.
Tahraoui said the lengthy obligation created uncertainty over professional stability and contributed to dissatisfaction among healthcare professionals, particularly because of relatively low salaries and limited mobility within the public system.
“This was a very long period,” Tahraoui said, adding that the system had encouraged some professionals to seek ways to leave the public sector.
The new framework introduces a gradual transition period. Doctors, pharmacists and dental specialists graduating in 2024 and 2025 will be required to serve six years in the public sector. The obligation will progressively decline for later graduating classes before reaching the permanent three-year requirement beginning in 2032.
The reform also accelerates access to specialization programs by allowing students to sit for residency entrance exams after the fourth year of study instead of the fifth year under the previous system.
Tahraoui said the reduced service requirement would not worsen staffing shortages in public hospitals because Morocco has significantly expanded medical training capacity in recent years.
According to the Health Ministry, the country increased training capacity by 133% between 2020 and 2025 through the expansion of medical schools and available training seats.
Officials estimate the reform could help integrate an additional 6,641 specialist doctors into the public sector by 2032, while the system is expected to produce around 2,000 graduates annually by 2030 compared with roughly 1,300 under the previous model.
El Midaoui also announced that the government is working with the Health Ministry on a separate decree that would formally classify general medicine as a medical specialty, similar to family medicine systems in Europe and North America.
He said the proposed reform aims to guarantee specialization opportunities for medical students from the beginning of their studies and could help reduce shortages and migration from the public healthcare sector.
The measures form part of Morocco’s broader healthcare reform agenda led by Mohammed VI, which seeks to strengthen healthcare access and modernize public medical services nationwide.
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.