African Development Bank Approves €264 Million Loan to Morocco for COVID-19 Response

The PARC-19 thus contributes "to encouraging the efforts made by Morocco in the health, economic and social crisis triggered by the covid-19 epidemic," the AfDB said in a statement. "Faced with this unprecedented situation, we are doing everything we can to support Morocco in containing the spread of the virus and mitigating its economic and social consequences," said Mohamed El Azizi, AfDB Director General for North Africa.

The program, with the aim of protecting the population, has as its first objective "to help limit the spread of the virus and further improve the effectiveness of the authorities’ health response". This involves increasing the number of hospitals authorized to carry out virological tests, reports the MAP, which points out that the second objective of this operation is "to help preserve the purchasing power of Moroccans".

Thus, "the program will support the public financial support measures benefiting employees in the formal and informal sectors during the confinement period. "It will also support the government’s efforts to support 4.3 million households in the informal sector as well as 800,000 employees affiliated with the National Social Security Fund," the statement explains.

According to Leila Farah Mokaddem, AfDB Country Manager for Morocco, "this new program will help restore budgetary room for maneuver, preserve the conditions for growth, support SMEs and help the most vulnerable populations".

Morocco is one of the founding members of the AfDB, the statement recalls, noting that "the Bank’s commitment to Morocco amounts to more than 10 billion euros, with financing covering various sectors including health, energy, water, transport, human development, agriculture and the financial sector".