Morocco expands HIV care coverage to 33% of the affected population

Rue20 Spanish/Agadir

The number of centers dedicated to the care of people living with HIV has quadrupled in the last 36 years, reaching 40 structures throughout the Kingdom, the Minister of Health and Social Protection, Amine Tahraoui, announced on Friday in Agadir.

Speaking at the ceremony commemorating the 20th anniversary of the creation of the Agadir reference center for HIV care, the largest in the country, Tahraoui stated that 78% of people living with HIV in Morocco now know their serological status, compared to 49% in 2013, adding that anti-retroviral treatment coverage has gone from 30% to 75% thanks to the “test and treat” strategy.

These advances are the result of hard work and will be reinforced by the Integrated National Strategic Plan 2024-2030, which will be deployed at the regional level to have an even more specific impact, he stressed.

In this sense, Tahraoui welcomed the farsighted vision and commitment of HM King Mohammed VI to strengthen the health system and fight against all forms of social exclusion.

Created in 2004, the Agadir reference center for HIV treatment currently monitors 5,288 people, including 180 children under 15 years of age, that is, 33% of people living with the disease.