German Newspaper: Morocco is “The Vaccination Champion in North Africa”

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Die Welt, a German daily newspaper, has recently published an article rega14825rding the vaccination campaign in Morocco

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“A text message is enough and seconds later, Moroccans receive their vaccination appointment. The Kingdom has overtaken Germany in vaccination. And while Europe is in lockdown, life in Morocco is almost like it used to be.” wrote author of the article, Alfred Hackensberger, in his introductory paragraph, wondering what lies behind Morocco’ success in managing the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to the newspaper’s report, the vaccination campaign is known to be a great success in terms of organization. So far, two and a half million Moroccans have received their first vaccinations in 2888 centers, and there are more than 100 thousand Moroccans who are vaccinated daily, including teachers, health professionals, police member…etc. The goal is to vaccinate 80% percent of the adult population, equivalent to 25 million people.

Compared to Germany, and some European countries that are witnessing the second phase of the pandemic – the report adds – the Kingdom of Morocco, is on its way to reach full immunization. At a time when the rate of the first and second vaccinations in Germany over a period of seven days reached 126 thousand people (806 per day), Morocco succeeded last week in vaccinating approximately 173,920 people per day; the Kingdom has therefore outshined its European neighbors during these difficult times.

Morocco, as stated in the report, has been distinguished by its rapid and strict reaction and proactive measures since the beginning of the pandemic, as the decision to close air and land borders was taken on March 13th, 2020, as soon as Covid-19 cases started to appear. Schools were closed, quarantine was announced for a period of more than four months, and a law was imposed on wearing protective masks. In return, the production of masks has been boosted, the once-suffering health system is back on its feet; as hospitals are now equipped with modern medical technology, new emergency clinics are built, and medicines are available in sufficient quantities.

For his part, Pr. Hicham Sbai, Head of resuscitation department for Covid-19 patients at Mohammed VI Hospital in Tangier, confirmed in his statement to Die Welt that Morocco’ success is owed to its national strategy in which all institutions and actors participate, stressing that Morocco is adopting the well-known anti-malarial drug “hydroxychloroquine” in treating Covid-19 patients and reducing death rate, despite controversy between European doctors and scientists regarding its effectiveness.

Morocco’s experience in managing the Covid-19 pandemic remains a true success story, as Pr. Hicham Sbai expressed to the German newspaper.