Home Institution

Pomona College

Publication Date

Fall 2016

Program Name

Morocco: Migration and Transnational Identity

Abstract

Since the Moroccan Ministry in Charge of Moroccans Living Abroad and Migration Affairs (MRE) released its National Strategy on Immigration and Asylum in December 2014, MRE has put forth various policies and action plans to improve migrant integration in Morocco, including the need for their integration into the national healthcare system. Before that, most of the needs of the growing migrant population in Morocco were provided for by civil society and non-governmental organizations, who worked with severely underserved and isolated migrants often fearful and distrusting of the government and authorities. To overcome this resentment, these organizations had to develop community outreach programs to spread out into the community. Four such organizations – Caritas, the Association for the Fight Against AIDS (ALCS), the Pan-African Organization for the Fight Against AIDS (OPALS), and Médecins du Monde – and their community programs were studied as examples of the outreach work developed by civil society in the last two decades or so. Twelve interviews were carried out with (i) migrant peer educators at ALCS and OPALS, (ii) administrators at all four organizations, (iii) officials from the Ministry of Health, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and the National Center for Human Rights (CNDH), (iv) representatives of the private healthcare sector, and (v) two migrants (to produce their life stories) to gain perspective on the current situation of migrant health in Morocco. The research revealed a disconnect between the policies and action plans set out by Moroccan Ministries and the experiences of migrants on the ground, but also found that several organizations have developed effective peer educator programs to aid in community health engagement and awareness. The recommendation is for a public-private partnership between the Moroccan government and civil society organizations to incorporate the experience gained through the outreach programs (in particular peer educator programs) to improve the implementation of migrant integration into healthcare systems.

Disciplines

African Studies | Education | Education Policy | Mental and Social Health | Public Health | Social Welfare | Sociology

Download

Share

Article Location

 
COinS