The government of Morocco’s family planning program began in 1966, when a national population commission and local population commissions were established. One of the early achievements of the government’s family planning program was the repeal in 1967 of the French law banning the advertisement, sale, and distribution of contraceptives.
By the end of the 1990s, Morocco had made impressive gains in family planning and maternal and child health. Using a strong outreach system of household service delivery, over the past 40 years Morocco has reduced its fertility from 7.5 to 2.2 children per family, a demographic change as rapid as that of China.
The growth in the contraceptive prevalence rate has relied very much on oral contraceptives. Forty percent of married women use this method while only approximately 5 percent use IUDs and less than 2 percent of married men use condoms.
Maternal and child health also has dramatically improved in Morocco. Female morbidity and mortality rates have declined for women giving birth, and differences in levels of maternal care between rural and urban areas have declined too.
Despite these impressive achievements, Morocco still faces three challenges to further improving the reproductive health of all Moroccans:
- There is little diversity in contraceptive methods with a reliance on oral contraceptives.
- There is still a need for market providers to promote and expand reproductive choices, not relying as much on associative and public contribution.
- While the gap in contraceptive use between poor and rich and between rural and urban women has narrowed, there is still a wide gap between these groups in the use of modern contraceptive methods.
To address these challenges, DKT International established an office in Morocco at the end of 2010. Over the next few years, DKT will provide Moroccan couples with affordable, safe options for family planning through a dynamic social marketing program. DKT’s goal is to ensure that all women and men have access to a diversity of contraceptive choices.
For more information:
DKT Morocco
Director: Maurice Kupfer
Address: DKT International, Residence Sans Pareil, Lotissement Attaoufik,Immeuble 20-22, Bureau 32 3eme Etage, Sidi Maarouf, Casablanca, 20270 Maroc
Tel: 212-522-58-61-85
Fax: 212-522-78-61-17
E-mail: maurice@dktinternational.org
