Morphine Shortage in Morocco

On August 26, 2025, USFP member of parliament Latifa Cherif, also president of the association Les Amis du Ruban Rose, questioned Health Minister Amine Tahraoui about a possible morphine shortage. This analgesic, essential for patients with cancer or chronic pain, is a cornerstone of palliative care in Morocco. Far from being isolated, this alert illustrates a broader problem of access to vital medicines and raises the question of the Moroccan health system’s ability to guarantee regular, safe and equitable supply in a context of structural reforms and stated ambitions for pharmaceutical sovereignty.

Shortages on Several Fronts:

The member of parliament’s letter is not an isolated alert: many pharmacists also report the unavailability of certain morphine-based medicines on the Moroccan market. They underline the major impact of this supply interruption, which directly and severely weakens essential palliative treatments.

These concerns echo warnings issued since October 2024 by several patient associations and hospital centers reporting prolonged stockouts. At Mohammed VI Center, for example, hormone treatments had been out of stock for six months, Hasnaa Bouachma of the Attomouh association told TelQuel last October. These shortages have serious consequences for patients, depriving them of their right to care and placing them in an extremely difficult health and psychological situation.

In response to these criticisms, the Moroccan Agency for Medicines and Health Products (AMMPS) reacted in a statement published on August 12, denying the existence of a total shortage and acknowledging only a "partial" stockout of certain medicines. According to the agency, these pressures are linked to external factors that are difficult to control, such as difficulties accessing raw materials and fluctuations in global markets.

What Are the Potential Factors Behind the Shortage?

Several causes can be identified, including:

• Import difficulties: Morocco partly depends on imports of certain raw materials or finished medicines to produce or distribute morphine. Customs delays, export restrictions imposed by producing countries or delays linked to administrative procedures can interrupt supply. These difficulties slow the arrival of medicines on the national market and increase the risk of stockouts.
• Logistical problems: Medicine distribution across Morocco relies on complex logistics. Any dysfunction in transport, storage or stock management, whether delivery delays, insufficient secure storage capacity or errors in regional allocation, can cause temporary or prolonged unavailability.
• Supply-chain disruption: Global supply chains have been weakened by the pandemic, economic tensions and raw-material fluctuations. A break at any link in the chain, whether manufacturers, wholesalers or international carriers, immediately affects medicine availability in pharmacies and hospitals.

What Measures Is Morocco Putting in Place for Sustainable Supply?

To guarantee sustainable medicine supply, Morocco must strengthen several key levers.

• Local production: Morocco has a solid base in local pharmaceutical production, with around 32 manufacturing sites belonging to international groups and Moroccan operators, covering nearly 65% of national medicine needs. The country must intensify local production to reduce dependence on imports, particularly for essential medicines under pressure, such as morphine.
• Promoting generics: Generic medicines currently represent around 40% of the Moroccan market, with a target of exceeding 50% in the coming years. Morocco must accelerate the adoption of these medicines, which are on average 30% to 35% cheaper than originator products, by supporting prescribing, pharmacy substitution and patient trust.
• Optimizing logistics: the complex, multi-actor distribution chain must be better coordinated and digitalized to anticipate demand and prevent stockouts, particularly in public hospitals.

Tunisia: A Mirror Crisis in Medicine Policy

The issue of medicine availability does not concern Morocco alone. Tunisia is also experiencing recurring pressures in its pharmaceutical market, with shortages of essential products and growing public mistrust.

On Wednesday, August 27, 2025, the Tunisian Ministry of Health had to respond to a rumor campaign around the "national medicine policy." As in Morocco, the alert concerned fears of restricted access to certain vital treatments. In an official statement, Tunisian authorities denied any intention to limit medicine availability.

This situation reflects a reality shared by both countries: the difficulty of ensuring stable pharmaceutical governance in a context of import dependence and vulnerability to global fluctuations. It also shows that the battle is not only fought in regulation and production, but also in public-opinion management and citizen trust.

Conclusion:

The morphine stockout, far from being a simple circumstantial incident, highlights the structural fragilities of medicine policy in Morocco. It reveals the urgent need to rethink supply mechanisms, strengthen local production and consolidate pharmaceutical governance to guarantee every patient continuous access to vital treatments.