Court of Accounts report reveals gaps in Morocco’s mental health services for children, seniors

The annual report from the Supreme Court of Accounts has blown apart the frequent claims by government officials about the continuous progress in the healthcare sector and the services it offers to citizens nationwide.

It lays bare the harsh reality and the severe shortages that still plague the country in delivering medical and mental health care, especially for children and the elderly.

The 2023/2024 report, led by Zineb El Adaoui, pointed out the severe lack of pediatric mental health services, emphasizing that this type of care is almost entirely absent in most regions.

The same source stated that despite the goals outlined by various strategies from the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, pediatric psychiatric services remain “severely limited, if not completely absent in many regions.”

It revealed that only 32 pediatric psychiatric units provide mobile treatment across both the public and private sectors; of these, just 13 are private clinics—12 of which are in Casablanca, with only one in Marrakech.

In terms of public healthcare, the report revealed that only 4 regions—Casablanca-Settat, Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima, Souss-Massa, Marrakech-Safi, and Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra—have as few as one or two child psychiatrists each, while the other 8 regions have none at all.

The same source also pointed out that pediatric psychiatric services are limited to just one hospital with only 16 beds. This comes despite the fact that expanding psychiatric care through new units has been a key goal of the Ministry of Health and Social Protection since 2012, highlighting a continued failure in this area.

It emphasized that the mental health needs of the elderly account for nearly 11% of the demand for psychiatric care in the public sector, and over 8% of hospital admissions, pointing out that there is only one facility catering to this group—at Arrazi Hospital in Salé, with just 12 beds, specializing in neurocognitive disorders.

The report noted that treatment for other disorders is typically provided in “adult psychiatric hospitals, which are poorly equipped to meet the needs of the elderly, who often have physical health issues as well—especially when they are housed in psychiatric facilities on the outskirts of cities.”

The Council also pointed out that the public sector has just 2,466 psychiatric beds, with an average of 6.86 beds per 100,000 people—below the global average of 10.8. The 2025 health plan aims to reach 10 beds per 100,000 people by that year.

At the regional level, the report noted that 48% of the public sector’s psychiatric capacity is concentrated in the Casablanca-Settat and Marrakech-Safi regions. This concentration explains the uneven distribution of these beds across the country’s 12 regions.