- H.M. King Mohammed VI stressed the need to develop a realistic and applicable National Charter, which places the citizen at the heart of the health system.

- Necessary to ensure sufficient staff in all specialties and all health professions to meet the growing demand for health services. The 2nd Conference on Health, held under the theme "For a new governance of the health sector", opened its work on Monday in Marrakech. Organised by the Ministry of Health until July 3, this conference was marked by the message addressed by H.M. King Mohammed VI to the participants. This meeting aims to examine the priorities of the health system on the basis of the expectations of citizens and the aspirations of health professionals, as well as the development horizons of the national health system. During these sessions, five themes will be scrutinised, namely general medical coverage, the efficiency of financing systems and governance in the health sector, equal access to medical care, professional internships and the qualification of health professionals, new public health challenges in the face of morbid transformations, as well as medical safety.

. "Praise be to God, Prayer and peace be upon the Prophet, His family and His companions. Ladies, Gentlemen, It is a pleasure for Us to address the 2nd Conference on Health which is being held under Our High patronage. We have an emotional thought for the memory of Our Venerated Grandfather, the late His Majesty King Mohammed V, may God bless his soul, who personally presided over the first national conference, after Morocco regained its independence. In fact, since the holding, in 1959, of the first conference, the health sector in our country has seen achievements as important as they are varied, of which We will cite in particular the establishment of numerous general and specialised hospital establishments, civil and military, as well as proximity centres. At the same time, health services have developed and strengthened in rural areas, within the framework of a dedicated action plan. The country has also seen the launch of the risk-free maternity programme, the national immunisation programme, the supply and reduction of drug prices, while encouraging the use of generics and ensuring the health of people with special needs. In the same context, a compulsory health insurance system was put in place, in addition to the Ramed medical assistance scheme, which is based on the principle of solidarity, in favour of the needy. Also to be noted is the completion of numerous social infrastructures, notably within the framework of the National Initiative for Human Development. In the field of training, it is worth recalling the creation of numerous faculties of medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, and university hospital centres, in addition to training institutes for specialised staff in the medical field, and the administrative management of health services, in parallel with the progressive strengthening of their reception capacities. Regarding the legal framework, a certain number of legislative and regulatory texts have been promulgated. Focusing mainly on medical coverage, the medical scheme, and the supply of care, they set the responsibilities of all stakeholders in the medical field, such as the State, local authorities, private clinics, and civil society associations. These texts define the concept of the national medical map, and regional treatment plans, and the means for their preparation. Ladies, Gentlemen,

As important as they are, these achievements remain below our ambitions in this field. We therefore seize the opportunity of this conference to reaffirm Our constant desire to include the promotion of the health sector among the country's major essential projects. This is due to Our conviction that the right of access to health services, which has been enshrined by the new Constitution of the Kingdom, constitutes one of the major pillars for the consolidation of citizenship in dignity and for the achievement of the global and integrated human development that We wish for Our country. The meeting of your conference today, which consecrates the relevance of the participatory approach for all vital issues of the nation, should not only be an opportunity to take stock of the achievements accomplished. It should essentially be a propitious moment to imbue oneself with the sense of responsibility and the values of patriotism. Because it is a question of developing a realistic and applicable national charter, which places the citizen at the heart of the health system and strives to preserve achievements, to correct dysfunctions, to find ways and means to overcome constraints, and to outline promising future prospects. All this must be part of a global and innovative approach and have as its ultimate goal to provide citizens with high-quality services within the framework of an efficient, fair, and equitable approach. We measure the scale of the constraints linked essentially to the modesty of the resources available, compared to the legitimate and constantly growing expectations of citizens. For all that, We are convinced that the reflection, as vast as it is constructive, that we expect from your important conference, will be able to help create a broad consensus around the major challenges and the main health priorities to be defined. It is also a question of providing efficient responses, notably to the problems relating to the implementation of the constitutional right to care, attention, medical coverage, and health security, as well as to the adoption of good health governance and the improvement of psychic and mental health and the health of people with special needs and the elderly. It is also a question of exploring the appropriate means to ensure the necessary financing, at the national and international levels, to develop the mutual scheme, and to reduce disparities between regions to guarantee equitable access to care. On this occasion, We wish in particular to reaffirm our firm personal desire to ensure the optimal implementation of Ramed, by allowing it to overcome all obstacles, and by ensuring it is developed and its procedures simplified, so as to guarantee broad access for disadvantaged categories among our citizens to this scheme. During your constructive debates, you must keep in mind the need to integrate the health dimension into the various public policies, by combining efficiency and transversality. This should be done within the framework of a new territorial approach, based on the strengthening of the proximity policy, and being at the heart of the profound institutional reform of advanced regionalisation, which We are determined to implement in all regions of the Kingdom, with, first and foremost, our dear Southern provinces. You are aware, -We are convinced of it-, that the keystone for an optimal implementation of the desired National Health Charter remains the active and constructive adherence of all stakeholders to strengthen citizens' confidence in the health system. This action must be carried out within a framework of complementarity and institutionalised partnership, at the national and international levels, between the public and private sectors and civil society, whose appreciable efforts in this field We wish to salute. To this is added the need to take advantage of international experiences while keeping in mind the directives of the World Health Organisation, aiming to ensure global medical coverage. Ladies, Gentlemen,

Starting from Our intimate conviction regarding the central role of the human element for the success of reform projects, We invite you to surround the issue of human resources in this vital sector, with all the attention it deserves. It is therefore appropriate to ensure them quality training and, consequently, to guarantee their upgrading and adaptation to the scientific and technological evolution that has occurred in terms of treatments, prevention, management, and health governance, and this, in accordance with international standards. It is also necessary to ensure sufficient staff in all specialties and all health professions to meet the growing demand for health services, and to encourage research and innovation in the fields of medicine, pharmacology, and the national drug industry. In anticipation of the recommendations and judicious conclusions that you will reach at the end of the work of your conference, We implore the Most High to crown your work with success and to guide your steps in the well-understood interest of our citizens.

Wassalamou alaikoum warahmatoullahi wabarakatouh".