Two studies carried out on the costs of family planning services in Morocco, as part of the “The Danish Family Planning Association” (DFPA) project for the promotion of maternal and child health in the provinces of Tata and Azilal, were presented on Wednesday. Flap.
These two studies, carried out within the framework of a partnership between the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the International Federation of Family Planning and the Moroccan Family Planning Association (AMPF), aim to establish the real cost of the main services of the family. sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and will serve as a basis to advocate for an increase in the budget dedicated to the promotion of SRH.
The first, entitled “Report of the study mission: estimation of the cost of family planning in Morocco”, was carried out for AMPF within its service delivery points, while the second was carried out by the Ministry of Health within its structures in order to ensure universal access for women to family planning (FP) services. This involves meeting long-term needs in terms of decision-making and management of flows, resources and results (financial viability and controlled management of costs) and evaluating the effects of the current policy on the cost. benefits.
On this occasion, the president of AMPF, Latifa Jamaï, underlined that these two studies aiming to calculate the cost price of the family planning services of the Association and of the Ministry of Health have, of course, adopted different methodologies. and have had different results, but they set a common goal. “We hope that political decision-makers, social actors and people interested in the field become more aware of the role that FP plays in the fight against maternal and child morbidity and that the interest in investing in these services has increased. a positive impact on the economy, ”she said.
The head of the family planning programming and activities department at the population directorate at the Ministry of Health, Hafida Yartaoui, for her part considered that this study will pave the way for the economic evaluation of other priority national programs. health. “This initiative will mark the history of the national family planning program and the results of which will be the basis of a second phase relating to the analysis of the impact of family planning which will in turn be a strong advocacy argument. in terms of strengthening this program, ”she added.
The representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Morocco, Maryam Bigdeli, for her part stressed that the study on the costs of FP services comes at an opportune time, when serious discussions are underway on the ‘operationalization of the transition from the medical assistance scheme (Ramed) to compulsory health insurance (AMO). “This transition will certainly change the financing architecture of health programs to ensure their sustainability, either in part or entirely through health insurance,” she noted, noting that the detailed cost data will make it possible to build analyzes to support the budgetary planning of the program, but also to analyze the budgetary space and its flexibility for more investment in FP. In the same vein, Dr Bigdeli underlined that the estimate of the real cost of the services of family planning in the health establishments of the public sector, the first exercise of its kind in Morocco, made it possible to estimate the cost of the investment in the field of family planning.
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