Fez- Moroccan Minister of Health, Mustapha El Wardi, expressed his satisfaction on Monday with the entry into effect of the Ministry’s recent decree to reduce the prices of medicines in pharmacies all over Morocco.
Mr. Wardi hailed Morocco’s across-the-board reduction in drug prices an "historic" initiative for the health sector and for citizens.
In a press statement made during an inspection tour of a number of pharmacies and pharmaceutical distribution centers in Rabat, the Minister said, "It is an historic day for the Ministry of Health, for citizens, and for our partners."
He stressed that "reducing the prices of a number of drugs from between 20 to 80 percent, stems from the political will to enable citizens' access to treatments, quality, and provision of medicines with affordable prices," Maghreb Arab Press reported.
"Drugs will be offered for sale in pharmacies based on the public selling price, not on the market price," he added.
With this step, pursuant to Ministerial Decree No. 14.787, all medicines, including original and generic as well as “biosimilar” drugs, will be available in pharmacies. Prior to the Decree, some types of medicines were only available from university hospital clinics and pharmacies affiliated with of the National Fund for Social Security.
he reduction applies to 800 medicines, particularly those prescribed for serious diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases and infections, diseases affecting the digestive system, glands, and nervous system, as well as drugs used in anesthesia.
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