EU uncovers Morocco Health Ministry graft deal

A European Union committee has uncovered a number of "irregularities" relating to a deal made under former Health Minister Yasmina Baddou for purchasing low-quality medical equipment supplied to delivery units attached to urban and rural medical centres. The committee inspected several health ministry department to inspect medical programmed funded by the EU in the wake of the vaccines scandal which cost the Moroccan treasury 1.41 billion dirham. Morcco's al-Akhbar daily reported in its Saturday edition that the EU committee discovered that the equipment purchased through the deal was not available at the hospital and delivery centres it visited. But the committee also uncovered irregularities in the deal. The equipment was bought from Chinese companies at prices far exceeding the true value of the items. While each unit should have cost less 3,000 dirham, the deal names the price as 35,000 ($3,500). Baddou is still haunted by the vaccine scandal which left eight children in Casablanca el-Kelaa des Sraghna suffering from serious complications. The families of four of the children have brought a suitcase against the ex-minister in her capacity as the person in charge of overseeing the vaccination campaign which caused the children to develop chronic complications that have altered the course of their lives. The case is still up before the courts.