Morocco

Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri

Morocco appoints Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri as its first woman prime minister

By / / Good News For Humankind

Morocco’s first woman prime minister starts with a government still to build. Her party won 97 of 395 seats, well short of the 198 needed for a majority, so coalition talks with three parties began the day after her appointment. The king must now pick from the largest party under a rule adopted after the 2011 Arab Spring protests, yet he keeps sweeping powers over defense and foreign affairs. Turnout was 38%, the lowest since 2007.

Vials of blood, for article on cancer diagnostics Africa, for article on Parkinson's blood test

Morocco becomes first African nation to produce its own cancer diagnosis tests

By / / Good News For Humankind

Morocco’s research foundation has developed cancer diagnostic tests made entirely in Africa—a breakthrough that promises to slash waiting times from weeks or months down to hours, and potentially cut costs in half. The leukemia test, already used on 400 patients, sidesteps the costly delays of importing kits from Europe or North America. Because results no longer need to travel abroad for interpretation, patients can receive treatment sooner when it matters most. This success builds on Morocco’s earlier COVID-19 test and positions African nations to control their own medical futures rather than depend on distant supply chains.\n\n**Word count: 95**

Courtyard of the mosque and its minaret at University of Al Qaraouiyine, for article on Al-Karaouine university

Fatima al-Fihri founds the world’s oldest continuously operating university in Morocco

By / / Archive of Human Genius

In 859 C.E., a young woman named Fatima al-Fihri used her entire inheritance to build a mosque and school for her immigrant community in Fez, Morocco. That institution, Al-Karaouine, has been teaching students ever since. UNESCO and Guinness recognize it as the world’s oldest continuously operating university — founded roughly two centuries before Oxford.