Latifa Isfaoun, aged 31 and a mother of four, passed away in the maternity ward of the Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah Provincial Hospital in Essaouira following a haemorrhage. She died while waiting for blood bags from Marrakech.

The small quantity available at the Provincial Hospital could not be used given the victim's condition.

However, Latifa Isfaoun was not the only patient to suffer the consequences of a most lamentable health policy. In addition to its existence on the margins of the regional health map's concerns, Essaouira still lacks a blood transfusion centre capable of meeting the daily needs of a population of 400,000 inhabitants. An unbearable situation likely to negatively impact blood donors in Essaouira, which must imperatively store its collection at the Marrakech blood transfusion centre. The latter subsequently proceeds to transport certain quantities to blood banks as well as hospitals.

The donation, collection and use of human blood are governed by Law 03-94 promulgated by Dahir n°1-95-133 of 19 Safar 1416 (18 July 1995). As a reminder, Morocco currently only has 16 blood transfusion centres in Marrakech, Safi, El Jadida, Rabat, Meknes, Fez, Agadir, Laâyoune, Al Hoceima, Beni Mellal, Errachidia, Ouarzazate, Oujda, Tangier, Tetouan and Casablanca.

Structures that remain far from the required standards in terms of quantity and quality according to unions and professional associations. The National Union of Public Health affiliated with the FDT had in turn exposed the irregularities of blood transfusion centres in Morocco by insisting on the deficit in human and logistical resources.

As for the public health sector in Essaouira, it is still struggling: the delegate has submitted her resignation almost a month ago, while the director of the Provincial Hospital awaits his retirement, indifferent to the numerous irregularities that continue to tarnish the image of this health structure.