Morocco is speeding up the reinforcement of its public hospitals through an ambitious deployment of specialist doctors in Morocco. The Ministry of Health is continuing to reorganise medical human resources to better respond to the needs of the different regions.
This policy aims to reduce inequalities between territories. It also targets hospital departments that still lack specialised practitioners. For the ministry, human resources remain a key pillar of the ongoing health system reform.
Specialist doctors in Morocco: a better adapted distribution
The distribution of doctors is still one of the main challenges facing Morocco’s health system.
Some regions still lack specialists in several fields. Emergency care, intensive care, mental health, and maternal and child health are among the top priorities.
The ministry therefore wants to adapt postings to the real needs of health facilities.
In 2025, the ministry reports having assigned 1,204 specialist doctors across different regions of the Kingdom.
The public sector aims to boost its attractiveness
The government is also working on the conditions of access to and practice within the public sector.
A reform adopted in 2026 changes the framework applying to students in medicine, pharmacy and dentistry.
The new scheme seeks to make the public sector more attractive. It also aims to better organise specialisation pathways.
The length of compulsory service for new specialists will gradually be reduced, ultimately falling from eight to three years.
This change is expected to make it easier for new practitioners to join public health facilities.
Faster medical training
The reform also affects the training of future specialist doctors in Morocco.
The competitive exam for access to internship posts can now be taken at the end of the fourth year of study. Previously, students had to wait until their fifth year.
This measure is designed to speed up specialisation pathways. It should also allow the health system to train new specialists more quickly.
The ministry also states that training capacity increased by 133% between 2020 and 2025.
6,641 additional specialists by 2032
The ministry’s projections give an idea of the scale of the expected changes.
According to its estimates, the reform could make it possible to integrate 6,641 additional specialist doctors into the public sector by 2032.
The number of graduates is also expected to reach around 2,000 per year by 2030, compared with nearly 1,300 under the previous model.
This growth should gradually strengthen medical teams in all regions.
Significant needs remain in several specialties
Despite these advances, several needs remain pressing.
Emergency medicine and intensive care are among the priority areas. Mental health is also a major concern.
Maternal and child health likewise requires additional resources.
The ministry therefore wants to bring medical training closer to the real needs of each territory.
Regional hospitals at the heart of the reform
The goal is not only to increase the number of specialist doctors in Morocco.
The authorities also want to distribute these professionals more evenly across the country. This approach should strengthen regional hospitals and reduce the concentration of care in major cities.
The reform of the Territorial Health Groups is expected to contribute to this territorial rebalancing.
It provides for better coordination between medical training and the needs of the different regions.
Specialist doctors and infrastructure: two complementary levers
The reinforcement of human resources is also accompanying the modernisation of infrastructure.
The ministry recently announced the commissioning of 15 primary healthcare facilities in six regions. These centres have undergone rehabilitation and been fitted with new equipment.
The national programme provides for the upgrading of 1,600 primary healthcare facilities, including 500 in 2026.
This combination of infrastructure and human resources should gradually improve access to healthcare.
The key challenge remains territorial distribution
Morocco is steadily increasing its number of specialist doctors. Above all, it is seeking to distribute them more fairly.
The success of this policy will, however, depend on the working and living conditions offered in the regions.
Equipment, infrastructure and career prospects will play a decisive role in retaining practitioners.
In the long term, the goal remains clear: to bring specialist doctors closer to patients and reduce territorial inequalities in access to healthcare.
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