Digital health in Morocco and Africa: A prisma-scr scoping review of implementation status, barriers, and strategic priorities
Keywords:
Digital health, health systems strengthening, digital transformation, Morocco , Africa, PRISMA-ScRAbstract
Background and aim: This scoping review provides the first PRISMA-ScR mapping of Morocco’s digital health ecosystem, positioning it within the broader African context. It aims to assess national implementation status, benchmark progress against peer countries, and identify strategic priorities for sustainable digital health scale-up.
Methods: Following PRISMA-ScR guidelines, a systematic search was conducted across PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and grey literature from WHO, ITU, the African Union, and Moroccan policy sources. Data extraction covered governance, infrastructure, interoperability, workforce capacity, financing, and adoption outcomes. Methodological quality was assessed using standardized appraisal tools for peer-reviewed and policy sources.
Results: Twelve studies met inclusion criteria, five from Morocco and seven from other African countries. Morocco has shows measurable advances in telemedicine, health information systems, and hospital digitalisation, supported by growing political commitment and ICT infrastructure. However, implementation remains fragmented, with persistent challenges in governance coordination, interoperability, digital literacy among healthcare providers, and long-term financing sustainability. Compared regionally, Morocco outperforms several North and West African countries in infrastructural readiness but lags behind Rwanda and Kenya in digital governance maturity and ecosystem-wide institutionalisation.
Conclusions: Morocco demonstrates a strong foundation for digital health expansion but requires more structured national governance, interoperable system architecture, sustainable financing models, and capacity-building initiatives to transition from pilot-based initiatives to a fully integrated and scalable e-health ecosystem aligned with the Morocco Health Reform 2030 and the African Union Digital Health Strategy (2020–2030).
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