Health Budget 2027: Settat, Kénitra Get University Hospitals
Morocco's Health Ministry has decided to turn the Settat and Kénitra hospitals into university hospital centers, as its 2027 budget raises hospital-building credits 61% to 6.14 billion dirhams.
Morocco's Ministry of Health and Social Protection has decided to turn the hospitals of Settat and Kénitra into two university hospital centers, as part of the sector's 2027 budget presented on Thursday to the Social Sectors Committee at the House of Representatives, according to Al3omk. The move, the ministry says, aims to expand the healthcare offer and strengthen hospital infrastructure in both regions, letting the two facilities develop their treatment and training functions together.
The announcement comes as credits for building, renovating and equipping hospital institutions jump from 3.81 billion dirhams in 2026 to 6.14 billion dirhams in 2027, an increase of nearly 61%, while the ministry's overall budget reaches 45.36 billion dirhams against 42.36 billion the previous year.
The 2027 health budget in numbers
| Item | 2026 | 2027 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Building, renovating and equipping hospitals | 3.81 | 6.14 | +61% |
| Ministry's overall budget | 42.36 | 45.36 | +7.08% |
Why hospitals outpace other budget lines
A 61% rise in construction and equipment credits far outstrips the 7.08% increase in the ministry's overall budget, meaning the government is directing a larger share of the health budget specifically toward building projects this year, rather than other operating items. This sits within total investment payment credits of 14.49 billion dirhams, alongside 16.1 billion dirhams in commitment credits, which stay nearly stable compared with the previous year — meaning the new amounts reflect a redirection of existing resources toward construction rather than exceptional extra funding. By contrast, credits for building and equipping university hospital centers fall to 1.64 billion dirhams, which the ministry links to the near completion of the Laâyoune and Ibn Sina (Rabat) university hospital projects, now in their final construction and equipping stages. Investment support for regional health groupings rises sharply, from 50 million to 1 billion dirhams, while 2.33 billion dirhams is allocated to rehabilitating existing health infrastructure.
What this means for the people of Settat and Kénitra
The ministry itself describes this shift as a change in priority: from planning and mobilizing credits toward speeding up completion and bringing facilities into actual service, with a stated goal of reducing regional disparities in access to care. For residents of Settat and Kénitra specifically, moving from hospital status to university hospital center status is not merely an administrative change: by the ministry's own rationale, it adds a medical and nursing training mission to the two facilities alongside treatment, under a plan that prioritizes finishing ongoing projects and upgrading hospital institutions to receive patients. The ministry gave lawmakers no exact date for when the two centers will enter actual service.