In response to a written parliamentary question, Ait Taleb said that: “Human resources specialized in mental health are not sufficient to meet the needs of the population for specialized treatment, while official figures show high prevalence rates for mental health. mental and psychological disorders”. In this sense, the Minister recalled that the treatment of these disorders is characterized by its high cost, whether at the economic or social level.
On this last aspect, the phenomenon of stigmatization limits the access of people affected to care.
In number, Morocco has 343 psychiatrists and 214 psychologists, including 200 working in the private sector, 1,335 psychiatric nurses, 16 child psychiatrists, 14 social workers and 64 doctors trained in addiction treatment. Note that the Kingdom also has 197 speech therapists and 36 psychomotricians.
The Ministry of Health and Social Protection indicated that these resources are insufficient to deal with the high rates of people with mental and psychological disorders, specifying that 26% of Moroccans suffer from depression during their lifetime, 9% of anxiety disorders and 5.6% mental disorders. While 1% of Moroccans suffer from schizophrenia, according to statistics from the 2005 national survey.
On the other hand, the same source claimed that mental health is high on its agenda as it strives to make up for the shortfall with significant measures and procedures by integrating mental health into public hospitals and primary health care facilities.
In this context, the ministry has endeavored to strengthen the capacities of professionals in the field of mental health and the care of mental disorders, by training 140 of them since 2018.
It should be remembered that the “Mental Health Gap” project was also launched, using the guide of the World Health Organization (WHO) to strengthen the capacities of health professionals in non-specialized establishments, in order to also allow general practitioners assess and manage mental and neurological disorders, as well as those related to drug use, at the level of general medical consultations.