Rabat – The Delegate Minister at the Ministry of Interior, Noureddine Boutayeb, announced on Tuesday, January 28, that Moroccan authorities have distributed 150 satellite phones in several villages in mountainous areas.
The official made the announcement at the House of Councillors in response to a question about Morocco’s measures to tackle the cold waves, especially in remote villages.
A satellite phone is a type of phone that connects to the telephone network by radio through orbiting satellites instead of terrestrial cell sites, as cellphones do. Satellite phones can work in areas that are off the telephone network grid.
“There is no longer any territorial or telephone isolation,” Boutayeb commented on the move.
The initiative is part of Morocco’s national plan to ensure the safety of its citizens during cold snaps. The plan was “launched 10 years ago, and is updated at the start of each winter season,” added the minister.
The plan mobilizes “a national monitoring committee 24 hours a day, to provide the necessary services to the inhabitants of mountainous areas,” explained Boutayeb.
The committee identified 1,753 douars threatened with isolation this year during a meeting on November 15, 2019, and agreed to take several actions to support the villages’ inhabitants.
The initiatives include raising citizens’ awareness of cold waves, guaranteeing a normal supply of primary products, making a census of pregnant women, taking care of the homeless, and distributing firewood.
Authorities have also mobilized 2,480 doctors and medical staff, 745 mobile medical units, 465 ambulances, 1,480 snow removal machines, and 1,003 drivers.
