CAES Morocco: Leading Across Differences

  Social status of Amazigh (berbers) Throughout our tours, I met guides who emphasized their Amazigh ethnicity. At first, I felt that they were proud of their origins, people, and culture, and I’m sure this is true. However, I also feel that they make these emphatic declarations because they feel marginalized and shamed, leading them to stress this part of themselves even more. I was most certain of this when the tour guide in Fes said that the king had trouble garnering the people’s support when he married his Arab wife because the marriage was not representative of the majority ethnicity. After the backlash, the king revealed his Amazigh lineage. But this begs the question: why wasn’t this always known? Why was he hiding it? In the past, Morocco has consistently tried to assimilate and Arabize the Amazigh people by falsifying their history and promoting other languages, religions, and cultures (Marcus, 2025). The promotion of Darija, French, and other languages over the Amaz...

  As a person with a chronic illness, I was curious to know what the general experience is of those with noncommunicable illnesses in Morocco. I found that, as of the World Health Organization’s findings in 2025, almost 85 percent of all deaths in Morocco are attributed to noncommunicable diseases. 73 percent of all spending on long-term illnesses goes to four main conditions: hypertension, end-stage kidney disease, cancer, and diabetes, and resources remain limited with only 1.5 healthcare workers for every thousand people (WHO, 2025) The Ministry of Health and Social Protection has initiated several programs to build more healthcare infrastructure, including the National Multisectoral Strategy for the Prevention and Control of NCDs, beginning in 2019. This strategy includes the constructions of healthcare facilities around the country, such as oncology centers and reproductive health clinics, and increased screening for noncommunicable illnesses.The Health Reform Strategy, addi...