08.10.07
HEALTHCARE-National strategy and its orientations
The main United Nations Development Agencies in Morocco — World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), World Food Programme (WFP) — decided, during the interagency meeting held on 6 January 1994, to carry out a pilot project to review the work of the specialized agencies and programmes within the framework of their cooperation in the area of public health.
The main partners met on Wednesday 12 January 1994 at UNESCO Headquarters to present their strategy for cooperation in the key area of public health in Morocco. This project, which is a prelude to intensified cooperation in the United Nations system within the context of the national strategy for a sustainable development policy, will be followed by other reviews in areas such as agriculture, culture, education, etc.
The meeting was held under the auspices of the WHO Representative in Morocco, and with the participation of the UNDP Resident Representative in Morocco as well as UNESCO, FAO, UNICEF, UNFPA and WFP representatives, their assistants and the officers in charge of health programmes in these agencies.
The programme of work of the meeting included the following items.
A.1 National strategy and its orientations
The Ministry of Health’s report, Health in Morocco — development strategy, published in 1993 and the documents distributed during a press briefing held on 6 January 1994 by His Excellency the Minister of Public Health, Professor A. Harouchi, who presented the main objectives of the Ministry of Public Health’s Plan of Action for 1994, were selected as the basic and most up-to-date documents for any future concerted action of the agencies and programmes of the United Nations in the field of health.
The medium-term programme of work adopted by the Ministry of Public Health, an outline of which had been presented in parliament, has the following objectives:
• improvement of the health status of the population;
• coordination of the health activities of the various sectors involved in health care provision (public and private sectors, mutual benefit insurance system);
• regulation of the health development of the country to ensure better equity in the distribution of, and access to the various health care facilities;
• strengthening of the financing mechanism of the health sector.
Among these medium-term objectives, the following were selected by the Ministry of Public Health for the 1994 Plan of Action:
• strengthening of public health and preventive activities;
• improvement of the effectiveness of existing facilities;
• extension of health coverage;
• improvement of the financing system;
• other supportive measures such as administrative restructuring, health map, national health information system, improvement of drug availability, motivation of human resources, private sector, etc.
http://www.emro.who.int/publications/EMHJ/0701/01.htm
