Achievements in Social Field Helped Support Vulnerable Groups and Reduce Social and Spatial Disparities (Head of Govt.)

06 avril 2021 Printable Version

Rabat - Morocco's achievements in the social field have made a tangible contribution to supporting vulnerable groups and reducing spatial and social disparities, said head of government Saad Dine El Otmani, underlining the government's determination to continue its efforts in this area, to face the remaining challenges and meet the legitimate needs and expectations.

El Otmani added, in a document posted on the official website of the department of the head of government, that the executive has paid great attention to the social project, in which Morocco has been engaged for years under the wise leadership of HM King Mohammed VI, adding that, to this end, the government has endeavored to strengthen and develop the various social assistance programs, to improve the governance and efficiency of these programs, to launch the reform of the targeting system, to diversify and expand support mechanisms for vulnerable groups, to expand basic health coverage and pension systems, and develop a system of compensation for job loss.

The head of government noted that these reform projects and these social mechanisms have yielded tangible results, stressing that "this could not have been achieved without the High support and solicitude of HM the King, and the concerted efforts of all the institutions and all the actors".

In this context, El Otmani expressed his pride over the "social revolution" that HM the King has launched by calling for social protection for all Moroccans in the next five years, which was mirrored in the draft framework law on social protection approved by the Council of Ministers in February 2021, then adopted unanimously by the parliament in March 2021, thus reflecting the usual mobilization and national unity regarding big issues.

El Otmani said that the generalization of social coverage, as a large-scale national project, will strongly spur the social project, noting that the government has continued to support the medical assistance scheme (RAMED) while initiating its reform, and by setting up a system of medical coverage intended for students.

The government has also started the effective expansion of social coverage to reach, for the first time, professionals and the self-employed workers, bringing the coverage rate to 69% of the population in 2019, against 52% in 2015 and 35% in 2012, he added.

The document noted that the government has also launched, in accordance with the High Royal Guidelines, the second phase of the National Initiative for Human Development (INDH) (2019-2023), with an overall budget of 18 billion dirhams, in addition to the increase in the budget of the social cohesion support fund from 2.9 billion dirhams in 2017 to 4.7 in 2020, which made it possible to develop support programs and mechanisms for the benefit of vulnerable categories.

El Otmani also pointed out that direct aid intended for widows with custody of their orphaned children has been increased, from a total of 72,000 beneficiaries and 140,000 orphans in 2017, to nearly 107,000 widows and 181,000 orphans in 2020, in addition to the consolidation of a number of support programs for people with disabilities, and the organization for their benefit, for the first time, of competitions to access the public service, with the recruitment, between 2019 and 2021, of 650 people, in addition to their participation in other recruitment examinations.

The document concludes that the government generalized in 2018 the "Tayssir" program to support education, bringing the number of beneficiaries from around 800,000 in 2016 to 2.5 million in 2020.