The Moroccan Society of Management of Pain and Palliative Care was created within the National Institute of Oncology in Rabat in 1995. This designated centre provides the only palliative care service in Morocco; a 10 bed hospital inpatient unit and an outpatient clinic (Table 1).
Table 1 Palliative care provision in Morocco, 2004
Adult Services
Morocco
Freestanding unit
Hospital unit
Hospital support team
Home care
Day care
Clinic/ Drop-in centre
Grand Total
Moroccan Society of Management of Pain and Palliative Care, Rabat
1
1
2
Total services
1
1
2
The Moroccan Society of Management of Pain and Palliative Care
The majority of patients seen at the centre are those with metastatic cancer pain. Occasionally the centre attends to those living with HIV and suffering from chronic non-cancer pain. Up to 50,000 new cases of cancer are registered each year in Morocco yet treatment reaches only 10,000 of those, leaving many with no treatment and significant pain.2
The organisation manages a biennial conference for up to 400 participants to expand interest in palliative care. Since April 2003 the need to manage pain has been endorsed by health authorities as a national priority. The Moroccan Society of Management of Pain and Palliative Care in Rabat is the first National Centre of Pain and Palliative Care in Morocco and is due to be formally inaugurated in early 2006. The aim of the Centre will be threefold: care, training and research in the field of pain.
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