Credits of around 68.84 million dirhams (MDH) were mobilised by the Ministry of Health, the National Initiative for Human Development (INDH), and other partners for the realisation of public health projects in the young province of Guercif between 2008 and 2010, according to Abdelaziz Rihani, provincial delegate of Health in Taza.

Thus, more than 56.7 million dirhams were invested during this period by the health department, in cooperation with other partners, including the People's Republic of China, for the construction of a local hospital with a capacity of 45 beds in Guercif and an urban health centre in the Ghiatta district of the same city, he indicated in a presentation made during a recent ordinary session of the provincial council of Guercif.

An amount of 10.9 million dirhams was allocated by the INDH fund, the Health department, and the Agency for the Development of the Northern Prefectures and Provinces (APDN) for health projects currently under construction, including a haemodialysis centre and an urban health centre in Guercif, a dispensary with staff housing in the rural commune of Houara Ait Rahhou, and a rural dispensary in Matâa Ibn Hssaine, he added.

Credits of around 1.24 million dirhams were allocated between 2008 and 2010 for the repair, renovation, or extension of about ten health establishments throughout the province of Guercif, which has a population of 180,000 inhabitants, including 120,000 rural dwellers, according to the same source.

The delegate specified that the province currently has about twenty health establishments, including one local hospital, 6 health centres with maternity wards, 6 other communal and urban health centres, and 7 rural dispensaries.

The complexity of the province's relief, the scattering of housing, the insufficiency of transport means, including mobile medical units, and the precariousness of basic infrastructure make it difficult for citizens to access health services, he noted.

As a result, medical coverage indicators remain quite low in comparison with the national average, with one health establishment for 9,473 inhabitants, one bed for 4,000 individuals against a national average of 1,152, and one public doctor for 10,588 citizens against a national average of 2,107.

Despite these problems, he says, the strategy of the Health delegation favours free childbirth, the development of partnership mechanisms with local authorities and social actors, equipment in ambulances, the training of human resources, and the provision of necessary medical needs including medicines, diagnostic devices (ultrasound, laboratories, etc.), the improvement of service quality, and the strengthening of control systems for maternal and child mortality.