On Monday, February 10, 2025, the Committee on Education, Cultural and Social Affairs in the House of Councillors approved Bill No. 61.24, validating Decree-Law No. 2.24.728 of September 27, 2024, which amends Law No. 17.04 concerning the Drug and Pharmacy Code.
During his speech, the Minister of Health and Social Protection, Mr. Amine Tahraoui, stated that this bill aims to achieve vaccine sovereignty for Morocco by establishing a national industry capable of meeting national and continental demand. He emphasized the importance of supporting this industry, ensuring the quality of locally produced or imported vaccines, and verifying their compliance with international standards.
The Minister highlighted Morocco’s efforts to develop an effective and comprehensive legal framework to achieve level 3 regulatory maturity for vaccines. This would enable the Moroccan Agency for Medicines and Health Products to be included in the World Health Organization’s list of regulatory bodies at maturity levels 3 and 4.
The decree-law was introduced in response to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, which underscored the urgent need to ensure a stable supply of medicines, especially vaccines, to better address health crises and strengthen the healthcare system.
The bill establishes a national certification system for the official approval of vaccine and serum batches intended for human use. It includes a procedure for reviewing production data and quality control test results. It also exempts vaccines and serums procured by Morocco through UNICEF from certification requirements and sets the conditions for granting official certification.
It should be noted that this decree-law was previously unanimously approved by the Committee on Social Sectors in the House of Representatives and the Committee on Education, Cultural and Social Affairs in the House of Councillors in September 2024, before its publication in the Official Gazette No. 7339 on September 30, 2024.
