Morocco to Expand COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign to Homeless and Undocumented Residents

A few months ago, calls were made for foreigners, regardless of their status in Morocco, to be included in the national Covid-19 vaccination campaign. The concern is indeed on the agenda of the health authorities, but some difficulties are preventing its implementation and reflections are underway to find the appropriate solution.

According to Dr. Said Afif, member of the scientific and technical vaccination committee and president of the National Health Federation, "all persons over 12 years of age are concerned by vaccination in Morocco. These are the High Instructions of King Mohammed VI. In this regard, the homeless will not be forgotten. It is a matter of equity," reports Le Matin.

But the difficulty the authorities are facing is related to the census of the homeless, out-of-school children and all persons without identification documents. "The competent authorities are working on this issue. The Ministry of the Interior has shown incomparable efficiency." He stresses that efforts will be made to allow the vaccination of this category as well.

Hind Laidi, president and founder of the association Jood, which supports people in precarious situations, agrees and points out the need to have a list of these beneficiaries. In February 2020, undocumented persons represented 83% of the homeless population identified at the level of the Casablanca region thanks to the association Jood’s shower truck, equipped with a fingerprint recognition machine linked to a census software. According to the data, 9% of these 83% belong to the 12-17 age group and they are all undocumented, Hind Laidi said.

The founder of Jood is nevertheless pleased that no Covid-19 cluster has been detected so far among the homeless population, and even less among the 12-17 age group. "As surprising as it may seem, we have not encountered any Covid-19 cases during our night rounds. This could be explained by the fact that these are people who have developed high immunity due to the fact that they live in unsanitary environments," she noted.