Morocco’s Poverty and Vulnerability Surge Amid COVID-19 Crisis, Government Report Finds

According to this document, "the containment measures taken around the world to counter the spread of this pandemic have led to a sudden halt in economic activity everywhere in the world, leading in its wake to deep disruptions in supply chains and a drastic drop in world trade," reports la Map, which also mentions the rainfall deficit that has strongly impacted the country’s agriculture.

Thus, "the health crisis would have generated a significant increase in the number of poor and vulnerable people in 2020, compared to 2019, if support measures had not been deployed by the State," the report states, stressing that the measures taken by the authorities have saved more than 860,000 people from poverty and prevented nearly 1.2 million others from falling below the vulnerability threshold.

"In particular, the cash transfers paid to households by the Special Covid-19 Fund would have saved between 554,000 and 835,000 people above the national poverty line and between 700,000 and 1.1 million people above the vulnerability threshold," details the document, which also recommends the rapid implementation of a strong and integrated social protection system for all Moroccans, with operational targeting tools and mechanisms for effective public action. This means that public policies must take into account the requirements of social inclusiveness.

This report, the same source points out, presents the assessment of all the studies and analyzes carried out by the DEPF during the year 2020.