How to check on elderly parents in Morocco from Europe

For Moroccan families in France, Spain, Belgium or Canada: a daily WhatsApp check-in in Arabic or French, the 15 ambulance line, AMO, and a local circle.

By the Athnova Care team · Updated 2026-10-06

Why families abroad worry about parents in Morocco

Moroccan families live in Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Madrid, Barcelona, Brussels, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Milan and Montreal, while parents stay in Casablanca, Fès, Tangier, Oujda, Nador, Agadir or a village in the Rif or the Souss. Summers are spent together; the rest of the year, news of a parent’s health travels slowly.

A short WhatsApp message every morning, in standard written Arabic or in French, tells you your parent is well, and makes sure someone acts on the day they do not answer.

A daily check-in in Arabic or French, on WhatsApp

Every morning, at the time you choose on their clock, your parent gets one WhatsApp message in Arabic or French: did they take their morning medicines? They tap a button — "yes", "not yet" or "please call me" — and you see the answer in the family app.

Nothing to install and no password: the message arrives on the WhatsApp they already use, from a contact called Athnova Care. They can also send a photo of a blood-pressure reading, a prescription or a report at any time.

If the morning message is not answered, a reminder follows about three hours later. Our follow-up phone call does not reach Morocco yet, so if the reminder also goes unanswered you are alerted straight away, and then the neighbour or relative you chose is asked to check.

Emergency numbers in Morocco

Save these in your own phone and in your parent's, and on the fridge. Messages from Athnova Care quote this number when your parent says they are unwell, and so does their emergency card.

Number	What it is for
15	Ambulance and civil protection (also fire)
19	Police in towns
177	Gendarmerie royale, in rural areas
112	From a mobile phone

We are not an emergency service. In an emergency, your parent or the person with them should call the local number first.

Build a local circle before you need it

Choose two people near the home — a brother or sister, a cousin, a neighbour, the concierge of the building — save their WhatsApp numbers in the app, and agree that a message from us means "please go and look".

Write the address the way an ambulance needs it: quartier, street, building and apartment number, and a landmark such as the mosque or the school. Put it on the emergency card.

Doctors, hospitals and medicines

Check your parent’s health cover: most people now have AMO, managed by the CNSS, including AMO Tadamon for families who used to have RAMED, while former civil servants are often covered by the CNOPS. Note the clinic or hospital they use and their doctor on the emergency card.

Ask your parent to send a photo of each new prescription on WhatsApp, so the family sees the same list and can help with renewals.

The time difference

Morocco is on UTC+1 for most of the year, the same as France, Spain and Belgium in winter and one hour behind them in summer. During Ramadan the country moves its clocks back one hour, and the check-in follows your parent’s clock.

What Athnova Care does and does not do in Morocco

Daily WhatsApp check-in in Arabic or French or English, with the reply in your app.
An alert to you when they go quiet (the follow-up phone call does not reach Morocco yet).
Alerts to the whole family, then to the neighbour or relative you chose.
An emergency card with their address, medicines, allergies, doctor and contacts, ready to share with a hospital.
Medicine reminders, readings and reports kept in one place for the doctor.
Not offered there: lab tests and medicine refills, which we arrange in India only.

Questions families ask

Is the check-in in Arabic or French?

Either. Choose Arabic (standard written Arabic, worded to suit a mother or a father) or French for each parent, and change it at any time. Your parent answers with a button, so there is nothing to type.

What is the emergency number in Morocco?

15 for an ambulance and the civil protection, 19 for the police in towns, 177 for the Gendarmerie royale in rural areas. From a mobile phone, 112 also works.

Is there a phone call if they do not reply?

The follow-up call does not reach Morocco yet, so if the message and the reminder go unanswered we alert you and your local circle straight away.

Athnova Care tracks and coordinates care. It does not diagnose, prescribe or replace a doctor. In a medical emergency in Morocco call 15.