World Bank Grants Morocco $100 Million to Boost Disaster Resilience

The $100 million will allow Morocco to strengthen the existing $200 million program based on resilience and integrated disaster risk management, while strengthening the capacities of Moroccan institutions operating in this field. Thus, "by protecting its population and economy against natural hazards, Morocco could save more than $800 million per year," said Jesko Hentschel, World Bank Country Director for the Maghreb, adding that "given its vulnerability to climate threats, it is essential that Morocco invests in improving its resilience to natural disaster risks."

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Thus, "this financing will allow the continuation of the results-oriented disaster risk management program, with the objective of protecting the country’s most vulnerable populations." Moreover, over the past ten years, Morocco has improved its institutional, policy and investment framework to deal with disaster risks. In addition, a solidarity fund to reduce the financial impact of natural disasters on households and businesses has been set up. "The objective of this new operation is to strengthen the impact of investments in risk reduction, as well as the monitoring and evaluation of these investments," said Philipp Petermann, disaster risk management specialist and project team leader.

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It should be noted that the initially established program has helped improve the kingdom’s resilience to natural disasters and support Morocco’s disaster risk management strategy. In addition, in recent years, the World Bank has provided more support to Morocco regarding disaster risk management. In 2019, a contingent credit line in the event of a disaster was approved and disbursed in April 2020 to support Morocco in the management of Covid-19.