ISGlobal and the Moroccan Ministry of Health sign a cooperation agreement in order to establish a Mediterranean Health Observatory

On May 13th, the director of ISGlobal, Antoni Plàsencia, and the director of the Epidemiology and Disease Control department (DELM) of the Moroccan Ministry of Health, Abderrahmane Maaroufi, signed a cooperation agreement with the aim of undertaking joint initiatives in public health and epidemiology, and of establishing a Mediterranean Health Observatory based in Morocco. The observatory shall serve as a framework for identifying and working on global health issues of special interest for the Mediterranean region and that are in line with the Sustainable Developmental Goals.

“The concept of Health Observatory is unique in the region and will allow having a multidisciplinary team specialized in generating and sharing analysis and data on health in order to guide health and social policies”, says Leire Pajín, director of Global Development at ISGlobal.

The agreement was signed in the context of a joint seminar that took place in Rabat and during which researchers and representatives from both countries defined a first action plan and analysed priority themes such as health and migration, health and environment, and new-born health. The event was also attended by members of the Spanish Cooperation Agency (AECID) Javier Parrondo, head of Cooperation with the Arab world and Asia, and Montse Solés, AECID coordinator in Morocco, as well as by several international and civil society organizations.

ISGlobal has a longstanding commitment in Morocco, where it has backed the launching of the first biomedical research laboratory in the hospital network, contributed to the training of health professionals, and conducted several scientific studies on diarrhoeal and respiratory diseases in young children.