Second meeting of the expert group

Published : Saturday 22 October 2011
On October 21st, 2011, IPEMED’s expert group on health met again in Paris. Reports on the current state of the Moroccan, Tunisian and Algerian health systems were presented. They were respectively realized by Pr Noureddine Fikri Benbrahim, Pr Noureddine Achour and Pr Jean - Paul Grangaud.

These reports propose a precise photography of the current health systems of these countries. They present the evolution of health systems, the demographic and epidemiological context through the analysis of some key variables (evolution of the total population, life expectancy at birth, evolution of the indication of human development, evolution of the morbidity and the mortality) as well as the answers implemented by public authorities these last years (organization of the medical care system, the offer of care, type of sanitary structures, human resources, the financing of the health system, the medicine).

In all these reports, national challenges appear:

-          A demographic transition which comes along with a still high rate of infant mortality and by an ageing population,

-          An epidemiological transition in which coexist "traditional" communicable diseases, in the process of eradication but still going on in the form of epidemic fits, and of new non contagious, degenerative and traumatological pathologies (characteristic of developed countries), implying more expensive treatments.

-          The importance of considering health in terms of determinants of health (lifestyle, food, housing, reduction of pollutants, etc.) and to have a multisector-based approach (education, housing, infrastructures, social, etc.)

-          The need to reorganize the offer of care which remains often badly distributed and unorganized.

-          The lack of regulation between the public and the private sector which allowed a very strong development of this last one, so stressing the disparities of access to healthcare.

-          A system of financing to be rethought in order to propose a quality care for all at the lowest cost. Today, the systems of the three countries are characterized by the transfer of a important part of the financing of the health expenses on households.

These national challenges are, as well, shared stakes which could be not only handled through national policies but also within the framework of Maghreb cooperation and even Euro-Mediterranean ones.

Following this meeting, a mid-term report has been realized by Pr Chaoui and Pr Legros. It will be completed by deepened sectorial analyses and several ideas of possible cooperation that will be proposed by the members of the expert group but also by the other sector-based experts to whom IPEMED will make appeal.
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