COVID-19: Tangier’s Council Donates MAD 20 Million to Families in Need

Rabat – The Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima Regional Council has contributed to the Special Fund for the Management and Response to the COVID-19 with MAD 20 million ($2 million).

The contribution aims to fill the food needs of the region’s disadvantaged people, as well as to purchase necessary equipment and disinfectants to apply precautionary sanitary measures.

MAD 16 million ($1.6 million) of the contribution will be allocated for the purchase of necessary food for the region’s eight provinces, or MAD 2 million ($200,000) for each province. This comes in response to the state of health emergency that has restricted many activities, damaging livelihoods.

Local authorities started managing the distribution of staple foods directly to families in need today, March 30.

This contribution aligns with King Mohammed VI’s creation of the special fund for COVID-19, as well as the efforts by all the country’s regions, NGOs, and private and public institutions to support families facing hardship, said a press release from the Regional Council of Tangier.

The council praised efforts made by Moroccan citizens, especially medical and paramedical staff and public security authorities, in fighting the spread of COVID-19 in Morocco.

With an initial sum of $1 billion, the national fund aims to mitigate the social and economic impacts of COVID-19 on Morocco. Thanks to contributions from businesspeople, institutions, and public and private sector donors, the fund’s worth has nearly tripled.

The northern region’s contribution aligns with priorities of the new Economic Monitoring Committee, launched on March 11, to follow the developments of the novel coronavirus outbreak and to mitigate its impact on the national economy.

The committee is developing measures and mechanisms to closely follow up on pandemic developments and to find ways to support the economic sectors directly affected by the global health threat, notably tourism and transport.

In its latest figures on the COVID-19 outbreak in Morocco, the Ministry of Health announced 37 new cases, for a total of 516 confirmed cases, as of 8 a.m. this morning, March 30.