Al Haouz earthquake: A committee affiliated to the World Health Organization welcomes the royal project to equip mobile health units
Heba Press
On Monday, September 9, the Minister of Health and Social Protection, Professor Khaled Ait Taleb, visited the mobile health unit of the Amizmiz region of Al Haouz province, accompanied by members of the Higher Committee for Social Relations of the World Health Organization, on the sidelines of its second meeting hosted by the Kingdom of Morocco.
According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, the delegation was briefed on the various services provided by mobile health units in the areas affected by the earthquake of September 8, 2023, including maternal and child health services, primary treatment, and remote medical consultations using modern communication technologies.
This visit comes, according to the ministry’s report, within the framework of the royal project relating to the mobile health units program, which was launched by the Mohammed V Foundation for Solidarity, with the aim of improving access to health services for rural populations, and which is part of the royal workshops for reforming the health system and universalizing social protection, and represents a model for a new medical intervention that combines the provision of local care and telemedicine.
Members of the World Health Organization’s Supreme Committee for Social Relations expressed their great admiration for the quality and efficiency of health services provided by mobile units in rural and isolated areas, especially for residents of earthquake-affected areas.
They also welcomed the ongoing efforts to ensure the continuity of the provision of these services with high quality standards. We commended the rapid response of health cadres following the Al Haouz earthquake, which helped provide immediate and effective health services to affected people in rural areas.
For his part, the Minister of Health and Social Protection, Khaled Ait Taleb, stressed the great importance of the royal program relating to mobile health units to improve access to health services in rural areas, noting that this initiative, which is part of the implementation of the High Royal Directives, aimed at improving the provision of health care and ensuring that all citizens have access to the necessary health services.
In turn, Etienne Krug, Director of the Department of Social Determinants of Health at the World Health Organization, praised the royal project of providing mobile health units, calling it a “model initiative” in promoting health equity. He added: “These units reflect an advanced royal vision of providing high-quality health services to residents of rural and remote areas.”
He considered that this royal project represents an important step in improving health services and deserves to be emulated globally, especially in the rapid response to natural disasters such as the Al Haouz earthquake.
The WHO High Committee on Social Connections includes Chido Mbemba, African Union Commissioner for Youth; Dr Vivek Murthy, Surgeon General of the United States; Professor Khaled Ait Taleb, Minister of Health and Social Protection of Morocco; Dr Karen Di Salvo, Chief Health Officer at Google; Jakob Forsmed, Minister of Social Affairs and Public Health of Sweden; Haben Girma, a human rights lawyer; Hina Jilani, a lawyer and human rights activist from Pakistan; Ayuko Kato, Minister of State of Japan; and Dr Cleopa Milo, a Kenyan physician and former UN Ambassador; Rafe Regenvanu, Minister of Climate Change Adaptation of Vanuatu; and Dr Ximnaguilera, Minister of Health of Chile.
