Over 2 Million Moroccans Aged 25 and Older Are Diabetic

In Morocco, more than two million people aged 25 and older are diabetic, 50 percent of whom are women, said the Health ministry.

In a statement published on the occasion of the World Diabetes Day, celebrated this year under the theme “Women and Diabetes”, the ministry noted that the Moroccan diabetic woman is confronted with several constraints to control her illness, which can lead, in the absence of regular medical monitoring, to difficulties in conceiving babies or complications for their health and that of the fetus or newborn during pregnancy or while giving birth.

According to the same source, the ministry has made diabetes prevention and control a priority in its sectoral strategy, by working to improve the management of diabetic patients, mainly through extending the range of healthcare services (health centres and specialised human resources).

These measures also include the increase in the budget for the purchase of antidiabetic drugs, the strengthening of communication on diabetes and its complications as well as the development of the partnership with social welfare organizations, the private sector and civil society, particularly in the area of therapeutic education and child diabetes.

Furthermore, the Health ministry provides the necessary care and availability of free drugs in primary health care facilities to 748,000 diabetics, of whom 64% are women, and mobilizes an annual budget of around 156,700,000 dirhams for the purchase of insulin and oral antidiabetic drugs, as well as 15 million dirhams for the acquisition of medical-technical equipment and reagents for the screening of diabetes and the metabolic monitoring of diabetics, the statement said.