Morocco
An Eastern Mediterranean country with a national cancer plan carried by a foundation rather than the ministry.
7 domains reviewed · 7 high-confidence · 0 dated estimates · 9 material gaps
WHO region: Eastern Mediterranean. World Bank income group: Income group not yet retrieved.
- Domains reviewed
- 7 of 9
- Hospice: 0 of 4
- Backed by a primary document
- 0 of 9
- Open questions
- 13
- Sources behind this dossier
- 7
- Newest source 2024Thin evidence
Lessons from Morocco
- A cancer plan that names palliative care did not bring a budget line or reliable injectable morphine. Service building and drug regulation need separate tracks.49,87
- Training without an accredited credential leaves trained staff without a defined scope of practice. A certificate should come with a scope of practice and prescribing rules attached.49
- Morocco sits in the region's lower development cluster yet scores high on vitality through an association and a services directory. Those are cheap to build and give later work somewhere to attach.49
- Oncology teams should ask about religious and herbal practices, since few patients raise them with doctors on their own.445,446
Palliative care
Is morphine available in Morocco?
Opioid supply. Is a therapeutic opioid physically available in the wards that need it? Every country on this question
Injectable morphine is only occasionally available, in contrast to the regional countries where oral and injectable morphine are both consistently available.49
What is national consumption on a morphine-equivalent basis? An atlas figure was seen only in a search summary, on a different metric.
Help answer it:Search PubMedHow does Morocco regulate opioids for pain?
Narcotics regulation. What licensing regime governs stocking and dispensing, and when did it last change? Every country on this question
Palliative care rests on an almost complete absence of specific law and regulation. The national cancer strategy refers to palliative care.87,49
Which instrument amended the prescription duration limits for narcotics under the colonial-era poisons decree, and when?
Help answer it:Search PubMedWho can prescribe morphine in Morocco?
Prescriber authority. Who is legally allowed to prescribe, and can that group be widened? Every country on this question
Is morphine prescribing open to any licensed physician, or restricted to oncology and anaesthesia, and is there any nurse role?
Help answer it:Search PubMedHow does palliative care reach patients in Morocco?
Service delivery. Through what structure does care actually reach a patient at home? Every country on this question
The regional survey places Morocco in the lower development cluster with Egypt, Iraq, Iran and Pakistan, but high on vitality, with a national scientific association and a published directory of services.49
How many palliative units and home teams exist under the current cancer plan, and where? Counts attributed to the previous plan were seen only in search summaries.
Help answer it:Search PubMedWho pays for palliative care in Morocco?
Financing. Who pays for the drug, the visit and the workforce? Every country on this question
The national health budget carries no line for palliative care.49
Since the transfer of the medical assistance scheme into mandatory health insurance in 2022, does the benefit package name palliative care or opioid medicines?
Help answer it:Search PubMedHow are palliative care clinicians trained in Morocco?
Training and recognition. What credential exists, who awards it, and does anyone recognize it? Every country on this question
There is no officially accredited palliative medicine specialty or subspecialty, only informal accredited training.49
Which universities award a diploma in palliative care, to which professions, and how many have completed it?
Help answer it:Search PubMedHow does Morocco prevent opioid misuse without blocking pain relief?
Opioid safeguards. How are misuse and diversion controlled, and are treatment and naloxone available, without blocking pain relief? Every country on this question
Experts reported that injectable morphine is only occasionally available in Morocco. Methadone maintenance is offered, including at a medico-psychological center in northern Morocco that treated 166 people who use heroin in 2017.49,627
Has Morocco revised the opioid prescribing rules described as restrictive, and is naloxone available outside hospitals?
Help answer it:Search PubMedHow do children get palliative care in Morocco?
Children's palliative care. How do children with life-limiting conditions get palliative care and the medicines they need? Every country on this question
A 2012 account from pediatric oncology reported that opioid therapy was available but strongly limited by restrictive and obsolete legislation, and that palliative care for children was not yet organized. Experts surveyed in 2020 reported only isolated pediatric palliative care provision in Morocco.628,49
How many Moroccan children with life-limiting conditions now receive palliative care, and has the opioid legislation been updated?
Help answer it:Search PubMedHospice care in Morocco
How the hospice model works here, who can use it, who pays and who it reaches. Covered 0 of 4.
What does hospice care look like in Morocco?
Hospice model. What does hospice mean here, who runs it, and in what settings? Every country on this question
Does Morocco have any service described as a hospice, as distinct from hospital oncology palliative units? PubMed returned no Morocco-specific hospice studies.
Help answer it:Search PubMedWho can get hospice care in Morocco?
Hospice eligibility. Who can enter hospice, on what criteria, and how late do patients arrive? Every country on this question
What admission and referral rules apply to end-of-life or hospice-type care in Morocco?
Help answer it:Search PubMedWho pays for hospice care in Morocco?
Hospice funding. Who pays for hospice care: a public benefit, insurance, charity or families? Every country on this question
Who pays for hospice-type or home end-of-life care in Morocco (public insurance, associations, families)?
Help answer it:Search PubMedHow many people reach hospice in Morocco?
Hospice reach. How many dying people use hospice, and who is left out? Every country on this question
How many hospice-type beds or home teams exist in Morocco, and do they reach non-cancer, pediatric and rural patients?
Help answer it:Search PubMedWhat fills the gap in Morocco
How people get care outside formal services: families, faith communities, volunteers, health workers, healers, other medicines and charity. Described, not scored.
- Family caregiving
Among 150 family caregivers of cancer patients aged 70 or older in Rabat, economic resources were exceeded in 78.7%, and 56% used bank credit or sold property. Relatives took part in treatment decisions for 86% of patients.444
Single-site evidence- Faith communities
In one Marrakech oncology department, 71% of patients used complementary medicine, most often religious therapy (60%). The main reason was reducing psychic pain, and only 5% discussed it with their doctors.445
Single-site evidence- Traditional and complementary healers
At the Beni Mellal regional oncology center, 36.6% of 530 cancer patients used traditional herbal medicine. Use was more likely among women, those with positive beliefs about it and those influenced by relatives' social norms.446
Single-site evidence
Sources cited here
- 49Sanchez-Cardenas MA, Pourghazian N, Garralda E, et al.
Palliative care in the Eastern Mediterranean: comparative analysis using specific indicators. BMC Palliative Care 2022;21:168. DOI 10.1186/s12904-022-01047-7. Expert survey of 12 EMR countries, including Iran, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco and Pakistan. Iran and Jordan are among the countries reported to have a national palliative care strategy, a designated Ministry of Health officer for palliative care and palliative care recognised as a subspecialty; recognition years are not given. Full text read.
- 87Hamdoune M, Jounaidi K, Ghafili A, Gantare A.
A general overview of palliative care in Morocco: needs far beyond means. Journal of Palliative Care 2024;39(4):266-270. DOI 10.1177/08258597241278399. Abstract read. Describes an almost complete scarcity of laws and regulations specific to palliative care.
- 627Idrissi Samlali W, Ghailan T, Karjouh K, et al.
[Early maladaptive schemes and relapse during methadone maintenance treatment among drug addicts (a cognitive approach)]. Encephale 2021;48(5):538-545. Cross-sectional study of 166 heroin users on methadone maintenance at a medico-psychological center in northern Morocco in 2017; article in French, English abstract read; single site. Abstract read.
- 628Hessissen L, Madani A.
Pediatric oncology in Morocco: achievements and challenges. J Pediatr Hematol Oncol 2012;34 Suppl 1:S21-2. Short 2012 narrative account of pediatric oncology in Morocco by clinicians in the field; describes restrictive opioid legislation; opinion-level evidence. Abstract read.
- 445Tazi I, Nafil H, Mahmal L, et al.
[Complementary medicine in cancer patients under treatment in Marrakech, Morocco: a prospective study]. Bull Soc Pathol Exot 2013;106(4):278-85. Anonymous questionnaire of 400 patients in one Marrakech oncology department (384 analyzable) on complementary medicine, including religious therapy and herbs; article in French. Abstract read.
- 446Aboufaras M, Selmaoui K, Najib R, et al.
Predictors of herbal medicine use among cancer patients. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 2022;149(8):4991-5005. Cross-sectional survey of 530 adult cancer patients at the regional oncology center of Beni Mellal on prevalence and predictors of traditional herbal medicine use. Abstract read.
- 444Lkhoyaali S, El Haj MA, El Omrani F, et al.
The burden among family caregivers of elderly cancer patients: prospective study in a Moroccan population. BMC Res Notes 2015;8:347. Questionnaire study of 150 family caregivers of patients aged 70 or older at the National Institute of Oncology, Rabat. Abstract read.