Availability of Medical Services
Women were also asked about the availability of medical services in the areas where they live. Less than three in ten women (29%) find that medical services are easily available, while almost six in ten women (59%) say that they are not easily available, and slightly more than one in ten women (12%) find medical services completely lacking.
Figure 5 shows that there are differences in access to medical services among women by area in which they live, whether they are Arabic- and Amazigh-speakers, and by their educational levels. Access to health care is affected both by urban/rural residency and by primary language spoken (Amazigh and Arabic).
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The majority of women, regardless of their location, find that medical services are not easily available (56% of urban residents and 63% of rural residents). Women who live in urban areas are more than twice as likely as rural residents to find medical services easily available (38% of urban residents and 18% of rural residents). Women living in rural areas are more than three times as likely as urban residents to find medical services completely lacking (19% of rural residents and 6% of urban residents).
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One-third of Moroccan Arabic-speaking women find medical services easily available, compared to only 17% of Moroccan Amazigh-speaking women. Almost twice as many Amazigh-speaking women as Arabic-speaking women find medical services completely lacking (19% and 10% respectively).
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There are significant differences in access to medical care among women with different education levels. Women with no education are less likely to receive medical care than women who have had access to education. More than twice as many women with a postsecondary education find medical services easily available (57%), compared to almost one-quarter of non-educated women (24%). Three times as many non-educated women as women with a postsecondary education find medical services completely lacking (15% and 5% respectively).