Drop in infant mortality in Morocco, says minister
Morocco, Health, 9/22/2003

Infant mortality in Morocco has fallen from 211 per thousand in 1960, to 64 per thousand in 1997, due to improvements in child's care, said here Thursday, Moroccan health minister, Mohamed Sheikh Biadillah.

Biadillah who was addressing the opening of the 28th meeting of the Union of Paediatrics Societies of the Middle East and the Mediterranean, acknowledged however that this rate does in no way match Morocco's ambitions and remains high compared with some countries with the same social and economic levels.

Morocco, he said, is facing multiple challenges related to child diseases, in particular concerning prevention and treatment.

He also revealed that expenditures in health hardly exceed 56 dollars per person and per year, which represents 4.5 per cent of the GDP and 5.3 percent of the state's Budget.

Talking of progress being made in the field of health, the minister mentioned the new law on compulsory health insurance which will be covering 32.5 percent of the active population up from 16.5 percent presently.

The Marrakesh four-day meeting is bringing together 350 paediatricians from the Middle East, the Mediterranean countries and the United States.

Previous Stories:
  King Mohammed vi lays first stone for oncology hospital in al Hoceima   (9/8/2003)
  WHO warns against smoking upsurge in morocco   (8/12/2003)
  Some 3,000 new cases of chronic kidney failure recorded in Morocco annually   (7/3/2003)

Please add a link on your webiste pointing to ArabicNews.com and bookmark ArabicNews.com & subscribe to our daily email news bulletin.

Search