Mr. Sallaheddine MEZZOUAR, Minister of Economy and Finance, Mrs. Yasmina BADDOU, Minister of Health and Mr. Bruno DE THOMAS, Ambassador, Head of the European Commission Delegation in Rabat, held a meeting Thursday December 18th, 2008, in the Ministry`s head office to sign a financial agreement amounting to ? 40 million (MAD 440 million) to finance a support programme for the consolidation of the basic health insurance cover.
Mr. MEZZOUAR highlighted the high quality of cooperation relations between Morocco and the EU and thanked the EU representatives for their assistance of the health sector. The EU had already accompanied the first phase of reform of the basic health insurance cover and is now extending its help in view of consolidating and strengthening the sector of basic health insurance.
Mrs. BADDOU also underlined EU`s cooperation and assistance in the implementation of RAMED (Medical Assistance Plan). This second phase aims the improvement and sustainability of access to medical care to the socially disadvantaged. She added that the project is structuring and is part of the National Initiative for Human Development (INDH), which particularly targets health insurance for the poor.
As to Mr. DE THOMAS, he laid emphasis on the cooperation programme that aims at consolidating EU`s relations with Morocco. EU`s support to improve medical care and set up RAMED are priority programmes meant to consolidate and extend basic health insurance cover, in view of reaching the socially disadvantaged who could not be medically insured through AMO (Compulsory Health Insurance) or RAMED. He added that such programmes are support tools to check its implementation and its follow up.
Mr. DE THOMAS said he is very happy that this cooperation is translated by the launch of RAMED in the Tadla-Azilal region and that it also translates Morocco`s readiness to progressively extend the regime all over the country. The EU, he said, reiterates its commitment to Morocco for the implementation of its structuring reform policies, mainly in social priority domains.
This programme, equally endorsed by ADB, specifically aims the improvement of accessibility conditions to medical care services to the socially disadvantaged through the generalisation of basic health insurance.
The results expected from this programme are:
- RAMED is set up and financed by the socially disadvantaged and poor.
- Allow effective access to all RAMED beneficiaries to urgent medical care.
- Set up mechanisms to finance and give access to non-RAMED beneficiaries to urgent medical care.
- Supervise and give the necessary management tools to the institutions in charge of the implementation and reform of basic health insurance coverage.
To achieve these results, the programme allows for the three following axes:
- Assistance in RAMED implementation.
- Assistance in extending and consolidating basic health insurance cover to all the socially disadvantaged.
- Assistance to institutions to consolidate their capacity of implementation, piloting, follow up and evaluation of the medical coverage reform.
At the end of this ceremony, Mr. MEZZOUAR and Mr. DE THOMAS expressed their satisfaction at the high quality of cooperation between the EU and the Kingdom of Morocco and reiterated their readiness to work more for its consolidation.