This agreement was initialed by the Minister of Health and Social Protection, Khaled Ait Taleb, and the IAEA Director-General, Rafael Mariano Grossi.

In a speech read on his behalf, Ait Taleb stressed that the signing of this memorandum comes at the right time with the ongoing reforms in the health sector engaged in Morocco to address the challenges it is facing.

The crisis that the world has experienced created a collective awareness of the importance of investing in a resilient health system that is better equipped in terms of material and human resources and is capable of meeting the needs of the population and health emergencies, he said.

The minister recalled that Morocco joined in 2020, IAEA's ZODIAC Initiative (Zoonotic Disease Integrated Action) which aims to integrate all actions against zoonotic diseases, in accordance with the "One Health" approach.

As part of the objectives of this project, Morocco has created a national consortium of ZODIAC laboratories, involving the National Institute of Hygiene, the laboratory of the National Office of Food Safety and the laboratory of the National Center for Scientific and Technical Research, Ait Taleb said.

In recent years, the fight against cancer in Morocco has undergone a profound restructuring based on an inclusive, integrated, comprehensive and patient-centered approach, the minister observed.

According to Ait Taleb, cooperation with the IAEA opens new approaches to strengthen the management of cancer patients in Morocco and Africa. This will contribute to the realization of the vision of HM King Mohammed VI in terms of health sovereignty, he said.

For his part, Grossi noted that the signing of this memorandum will help to further develop the work carried by the Agency along with Morocco, especially in terms of diagnosis and cancer control.

Cancer is a serious danger in the world and in Africa, he warned, stressing the need to support the Kingdom and other countries in the region and the continent to meet this challenge.

According to the UN official, 70% of the African population does not have access to radiotherapy, which requires seriously addressing these problems.