Casablanca-Settat Health Group Starts Operation

The Casablanca-Settat Territorial Health Group began exercising its powers on Sept. 1, according to a statement released by the group’s management on Sept. 2. The move puts into operation a new regional health body meant to manage care delivery across Morocco’s most populous economic region. Officials said the structure will coordinate services from primary-care facilities to university hospitals and take on responsibility for governance, resource use and patient pathways. Aziz Akhannouch, Morocco’s head of government, had already chaired the group’s first board meeting on June 10 in Casablanca, alongside Health and Social Protection Minister Amine Tehraoui and other cabinet and regional officials. At that meeting, board members reviewed and adopted the group’s action program, the 2026 budget draft and resolutions needed to launch operations, according to the health ministry and H24info. (telquel.ma) The Casablanca-Settat launch is part of Morocco’s broader rollout of Territorial Health Groups, or GSTs, under Law 08.22, promulgated on June 28, 2023. The health ministry said Casablanca-Settat was the sixth stage in the national deployment process, after Tanger-Tétouan-Al Hoceïma, Rabat-Salé-Kénitra, Souss-Massa, Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra and Fès-Meknès. (sante.gov.ma) ### When did the Casablanca-Settat group formally start working? Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026, is the date from which the Casablanca-Settat GST began the effective exercise of its powers, according to statements carried by TelQuel and Maroc Hebdo. The group’s management said the start of operations marked the beginning of its formal attributions in the region. (mmsp.gov.ma) The Sept. 2 statement said the body would work to strengthen territorial governance and apply principles of proximity and efficiency in managing health services. It also said the group would seek better coordination between different levels of care, from primary health centers to university hospital centers. ### What did Akhannouch and other officials approve in June? (telquel.ma) June 10, 2026, was the date of the first board meeting chaired by Akhannouch, according to Morocco’s health ministry. The attendees included Tehraoui, Employment Minister Younes Sekkouri, Higher Education Minister Azzedine El Midaoui, Delegate Minister Abdeltif Loudyi, Casablanca-Settat regional governor Mohamed Mhidia, regional council president Abdellatif Maâzouz, GST Director General Hicham Afif and CNSS chief Hassan Boubrik. (telquel.ma) The board examined the group’s action program and 2026 budget proposal and reviewed resolutions tied to the start of its activities, the ministry said. H24info reported that Afif told reporters the group would “launch a new dynamic” to improve service quality and ensure smoother access to care across the region. ### What is this new body supposed to do inside the region? Casablanca-Settat’s GST is tasked with regional management of the different components of healthcare supply in the region, according to the Sept. 2 statement. (sante.gov.ma) The group said it would also work to rationalize the use of human and financial resources and improve the quality of patient care. The same statement listed priority projects including expanding care supply, modernizing management and governance methods, strengthening complementarity between levels of care, improving patient care pathways and accelerating digital transformation. It also said the group would focus on performance indicators and service quality. (telquel.ma) ### How does Casablanca-Settat fit into Morocco’s wider health overhaul? Law 08.22 created Territorial Health Groups as public institutions with legal personality and financial autonomy, according to the published legal text. Government spokesman Mustapha Baitas said in June 2025, when a decree was approved for Tanger-Tétouan-Al Hoceïma, that such decrees fix the date from which a regional GST effectively exercises its powers and provide for the automatic transfer of officials and employees to the relevant group. (telquel.ma) The health ministry said Casablanca-Settat’s board meeting was the sixth step in the national rollout. Akhannouch said at the June 10 meeting that stronger regional governance in health was a strategic government choice tied to broader health-system reform and universal health coverage. ### What happens next in Casablanca-Settat? The GST said on Sept. 2 that its next operational priorities include modernizing governance methods, improving patient pathways, accelerating digital transformation and strengthening training and working conditions for medical, nursing and administrative staff. (mmsp.gov.ma) The group also called on public authorities, territorial collectivities, social partners and civil society to support the rollout. (sante.gov.ma) Hicham Afif, the group’s director general, said in June that the new structure would also widen training fields for students, develop scientific research and innovation in health and promote public-private partnerships. Those measures, he said, are part of the model now being put into effect across Casablanca-Settat. (h24info.ma) (telquel.ma)