Securing Essential Rights in Times of Pandemic: Healthcare Access in Morocco during the Covid-19 Crisis

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has put the Moroccan healthcare system to the test. Although the government of Morocco has successfully contained an exponential spread of cases thus far in comparison to neighbouring Europe, the health emergency highlighted the country’s own ‘pandemic’: a crumbling public sector, poor human resources, regional and class-based inequalities, poor governance and corruption. Based on the analysis of press articles, key documents, policy measures, and royal discourses, this paper aims to provide a timely review of healthcare in Morocco and assess Covid-19’s impact on it. Moving from the opportunities and barriers to the right to health, we explore the social and political implications of the pandemic. We find that the Palace strengthened its role by capitalising on its credibility and well-established networks, while other political actors appear increasingly detached from people’s everyday challenges. Furthermore, by securitising the health threat, the regime abdicates its responsibilities and further infringes on other rights, like press freedom.