Direct social assistance reaches: 3.5 million families
Just a few months ago, who would have thought that direct social assistance would soon become a reality? However, this long-awaited support has been a reality since the end of December. Indeed, millions of families are waiting until the end of the month to receive transfers to their bank accounts.
While at the end of December 2023, only just over 1 million families had benefited from direct social assistance, the target population has gradually increased. Indeed, in January this year, the number of beneficiaries more than doubled to 2.65 million families. This upward trend is not over. For the month of February, over 3.5 million families are expected to benefit from this direct support.
There is no doubt that this aid program is considered a safety net and a social shield, insofar as the minimum aid for each family, whatever its composition, will be 500 Dirhams (USD 50) per month. This can rise to more than 1,000 Dirhams (USD 100) per month, depending on the composition of each family, particularly the number of children. Beneficiaries are targeted through the Unified Social Register.
As a reminder, the operationalization of the direct social assistance program before the end of 2023 was the subject of clear royal instructions, expressed on the occasion of the opening of the last autumn session of Parliament. On December 2, 2023, the Government opened the registration process for this program via a dedicated web portal.
This support program is aimed at school-age children, children with disabilities and newborns. It is also dedicated to poor and vulnerable families without school-age children, and particularly to households with elderly dependents. Thanks to its direct impact on target families, this program aims to raise their standard of living and combat poverty and insecurity. At the same time, the program helps to improve social and human development indicators.
In practice, the program targets around 60% of the Moroccan population currently not receiving family allowances, i.e. almost 4 million households. It provides a number of benefits for the target populations, including assistance to protect against child-related risks. This aid consists of direct support for families with children under the age of 21, up to a maximum of six children. These benefits include a monthly allowance adjusted according to the child’s age and schooling, and additional support in the event of disability or orphanhood on the father’s side. In addition, there is a childbirth bonus for the first and second children, and a lump-sum monthly allowance for families with no children under the age of 21, who have no health cover under either the CNOPS (National Social Welfare Fund ) or CNSS (National Social Security Fund ) systems, not to mention special assistance for orphaned and abandoned children placed in social welfare institutions.
Mohamed CHAOUI
