Initial palliative care training and education in Morocco has been undertaken by the Moroccan Society of Management of Pain and Palliative Care located in Rabat. In 1999 the 3rd Euro-Maghrêbin conference on Pain and Palliative Care was held in Marrakech for between 300-400 health professionals. This initiative is repeated every two years. This organisation runs a training of trainers programme to disseminate palliative care skills around the country. Since 2003 a total of 40 Moroccan doctors have participated in this course. Nurses are also trained in palliative care by the organisation.

In 2004, the 4 th Europe-Maghreb conference was held in Tabarka, Tunisia and adopted the theme Pain and Supportive Care: Current Advances. (The Maghreb is a region that includes Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia). Significantly, nurse educator Françoise Porchet and three European colleagues were invited to provide a full day’s training. They report:

This opportunity allowed us to provide our nursing colleagues in the Maghreb with up-to-date knowledge on palliative care according to our individual specialties, while enabling them to acquire the knowledge through a process of exchange and constructive learning. It is very gratifying to note that the spirit of palliative care can transcend borders, cultures and languages. It is also important to realise all the possibilities that can arise from a training initiative put together between colleagues from three European countries and the extent to which this is a unifying event.⁷